Food for Thought
May 6, 2008 by Lofter
A man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, “Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.”
The Lord led the man to two doors. He open one of the doors and the man looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was large pot of stew which smelled delicious and made the man’s mouth water. The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful, but because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.
The man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering. The Lord said, “You have seen Hell.”
They went to the other room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was a large round table with a large pot of stew which made the man’s mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.
The man said, “I don’t understand.”
“It is simple,” said the Lord, “and requires but one skill. You see, these have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves.”
I chose my photograph of the path at the Sam Houston statue park, because I thought it illustrated my point. We’re all, each one of us, on a path called life. What we do, how we react to each other as fellow human beings along that path, is totally our choice. And a big choice it is, for it’s implications (IMO) are indeed far reaching. Just a little food for thought…
I’m still wrestling with whatever this is that has me sick - but I think I’m winning. Thanks for the prayers and words of encouragement. They’re worth more than gold. 
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.” - Jesus Christ (Matthew 23:25 NIV)
“There is a sufficiency in the world for man’s need but not for man’s greed.” - Mahatma Gandhi
While I’ve turned off the WordPress ‘related posts’ option, I do think my friend Sprecher’s “Pretend” is a related post worthy of reading. Check it out.
Barry Neil Kaufman said, “A loud voice cannot compete with a clear voice, even if it’s a whisper.”
Maybe the only hope we have in this deafening clatter of a world is to be sure we always take the chance to speak in a clear voice…even if we are just whispering to one another.
Feel better soon my friend…
Great quote, my dear friend. I also like this one, from J.T. Jong, who said, “It is only when we silent the blaring sounds of our daily existence that we can finally hear the whispers of truth that life reveals to us, as it stands knocking on the doorsteps of our hearts.”
When I silence those blaring sounds, yours are among those whispers I hear. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. Always.
Firefly, I’m not sure what happened to your lovely avatar… maybe if you reload it, it will come back. I always liked seeing it in the sidebar… these geometric designs don’t do much for me.
The bridge allows you to cross over things mon. Troubled waters, cactus, bad haircuts, and also also for sides….
….unlessen you decide to like camp the bridge…but you’re still over something, which is better than like straddling the fences.
Try Grateful Dead meets Yoga and more…
C’mon Give Peace a Chance–
http://www.sphinxproductions.com/pages/gofurther_trailer.html
Nice thoughts, better scenery, balance.
Balance………..Peace…………Bridges………Energy
http://www.exoticindiaart.com/article/namaste/
Was always fearful of ending up living under a bridge somewhere… but since I’ve found out that panhandlers can rake in up to $50/hour, it doesn’t bother me much anymore. Of course, the panhandler I’m thinking of was a good looking young lady… a fat, old man probably wouldn’t fare so well, huh…
My friend, what an excellent and thought provoking post! I must confess, at times I am way too selfish. And it didn’t take long to realise how alone I was. ‘Feeding each other’ kept me busy with other people and soon I forgot all about my own selfish needs. Strangely enough, I felt more ‘fed’ than I ever was. I’m still young, but I dare say each day is an excellent learning experience, and I feel very much alive with the people around me.
Thank you for the post. Do get well soon~! And thank you for the mention =)
Thanks, my friend. Hopefully, none of us will ever get too old to find each day to be that ‘excellent learning experience’ you speak of… I know I haven’t! Thanks, also for your well wishes, and you’re quite welcomed for the mention - great post!