Monday, August 14, 2017

People Needing People

I wanted to say something about the terrible events in Charlottesville this weekend, but I didn't know how. I feel like I don't know enough. Like most of you, all of my information is filtered through the media. This is what I came up with. This is a retelling of a story, it's not mine. And it can be widely applied.

A band of travelers  set out to cross the desert. Strangers who had nothing in common but their desire to reach a city across the sand, they each carried their own provisions. Not long after they set out, a terrible dust storm arose, darkening the sky and burying the path in silt and debris. Many turned back. Some hunkered down to wait out the storm. A few carried on. They became separated, lost. But two of the group were fortunate and stumbled upon an inn. There they found rest, shelter, food, and water while the storm raged on.
The next day, one of the travelers set out for the city alone. But the storm blew around him, and he was forced to dig a shelter. There a band of thieves found him. They took his supplies and left him without food or water. 
The second traveler was also in a hurry to reach the city, but he remembered the others in the desert behind him. He worried they would run out of water and get lost, so he set out to find them. Eventually, he was able to help them to the inn. The wind still blew and clouds obscured the sun. The road still wound through the sometimes deep sand, and thieves were still in the hills. But this time the traveler was not alone. The group was large. When sand blocked the way, work parties were organized to remove it. When some faltered, the strong shouldered the burdens of the weak. When night came, there were watchmen to man the watch. After many days, the second man and his friends arrived safely at their destination.
When they arrived at the city, they gathered around the second traveler and said, “We could not have come to this place without you. What can we do to repay you?”
And the second man replied,  "I have not brought you to this place, we have brought one another.” 
This reminds me of the connection between a storyteller and a reader. We often don't know each other, and yet the storyteller is, essentially, offering to take the reader on a journey. Sometimes we may think we know the destination, but always the reader has to learn to trust the storyteller and the storyteller has to earn the trust of the reader. They need each other. 
This story can also be related to the Indie community. Or any community, family, marriage, classroom, country. People need people. It's not enough to simply not cause harm, if we're in a position to do so, we should also help. And not just because it's good for the helpless--it's also good, if not necessary, for the helper.
As Ecclesiastes tells us:
Ecclesiastes tells us: ¶ Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.
10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.
11 Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?
King James Version, Ecclesiastes 4:9-11

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