Thursday, March 19, 2009

The Story of Enuff

By Lil O'Lee


Keristan Mythology


Once upon a long, long time ago on a planet in another universe (through the Black Hole) there were two villages, side by side.


In between them was a train track. The train came every morning to take people to work and returned every afternoon to bring them home again for dinner.


Just about everybody who rode the train to work lived on one side of the tracks. The people who lived on the other side of the tracks didn't ride it too much because most of them didn't have jobs.


The people who went to work got money from their jobs. When they got home, they could buy things with their money. They bought food. They bought cars. They bought toys. They bought houses to live in. They bought all kinds of things.


But the people who lived in the other little village didn't have much money at all. They could hardly buy any of the nice things the others could.


The people who had all of the nice things were happy and well fed. Sometimes they got sick but not very often and when they did there were doctors to help them get better.


The people in the other village who didn't have enough money for a good life didn't get to eat so well. They certainly didn't get to eat sweet treats and fancy stuff like the others did. When they got sick, it was hard for them to get well because they didn't have any extra money to pay a doctor to help them. These things made them very sad. Somehow it didn't seem fair but they didn't know what to do.


In the first village, one of the things the people liked to do most was drive around in their cars. Short trips. Long trips. Medium trips. One or two or three people would go on each trip. They would wave to their friends in the other vars as they drove around.


Then one day, someone said “Hey! Maybe we should buy some vans so that more of us could fit inside. Then we could all drive around together!”


Yeah”, said his friend, “that would be lots more fun. It would be like a party!”


Hooray!” shouted the children “Yippee!” said the grown-ups.


One boy asked if they could share the vans all the time instead of using cars because it would make things like shopping more fun.


And easier, too,” said his friend. “If we share the vans, we can share the work. Less work – more time to play.”


Right-o!!” said everybody, and that's exactly what they did.


Soon everybody was using vans. It was so much fun that they started sharing everything else too.


Watching TV was a lot more fun that way. Especially since somebody usually made popcorn.


Everybody was hanging out together more often and having a great time. They got to be better and better friends.


They spent so much of their time together that many of them started to live together. They figured out who their best friends were and built new houses big enough to fit whole groups of them.


Still, every day the train chugged its way along the tracks taking them all to work and bringing them back at the end of the day.


It wasn't long before everyone noticed that lots of their things were going to waste. Nobody was using them because everybody was sharing. Houses stood empty. TV's and stereos never got turned on. Washing machines and cars weren't needed.


People were making the same amount of money at their jobs but they didn't have to buy nearly as many things for themselves since they were sharing with their friends.


Even the money was just piling up unused. People thought this was a little silly but they didn't know exactly what to. They didn't feel good about themselves when they wasted things.


So one day, not long after they first began to share, someone else had a bright idea.


Why don't we take the things that we have extra and give them to the people in that other village? They could sure use them. After all, we have more than enough and they have less than enough.”


Everyone agreed it was a great idea and wondered why they hadn't thought of it right away.


Well, at least we thought of it,” said another.


They decided that a group of them would walk over to the other village and explain everything. The people in the two villages hardly ever talked to each other but everyone in the meeting was very nice. They all found out that they liked each other and started to relax more and more.


The people in the poor village were very happy. Some of them even started to cry because they were so happy. Some of the poor people said they wondered why the rich people hadn't thought of it sooner.


After all, you had more than enough and we had less than enough.”


Well, at least they thought of it!” said another.


I think there is one more thing we haven't thought of yet,” said a woman with a good job in the city.


What's that?” asked everyone else, puzzled.


Well,” she said, “every day I ride the train to work and every day I ride it back. I work very hard even though there are other things I like to do besides my job. I used to work so hard because I needed a lot of money to buy the things I wanted and needed. But now the money just piles up. I don't need so much money because I'm sharing. If I don't need so much money, why should I work so hard? If I spent less time working, I'd have more time to play. I'd have a better life if I had more time for fun.”


Me, too!” said someone else.


And if you folks worked less,” said a woman who had been without a job for many years, “we could work more.”


Then we'd have money to spend on the things we want,” said the others.


Like toys!” said the children.


Like food,” said the grown-ups.


Like health care,” said the old folks.


Like everything we need,” said someone else.


We would all have enough. Not too much and not too little.”


Just so long as we keep sharing and keep living together as very good friends,” said another.


If everyone in our two villages lives pretty much the same way and if everybody has enough stuff, what is it – besides the train track, of course – that separates us?” asked a young girl.


Good question,” said one man. “Does anyone have a good answer?”


No one did and so that very afternoon the people of the two villages decided to become the people of one village. They decided to name their village “Enough,” because of the wonderful idea that brought them together. Naturally, they decided to have a big party to celebrate.


One little boy offered to make a sign for the new village. When he put it up on the big oak tree, it read like this: ENUFF.


Everyone laughed and said they liked it better that way. And that is the story of how the village of Enuff, on the planet called Heaven, came to be.


Nowadays, nobody in the village of Enuff remembers the names of these first villagers. Nor does the train run right through the middle of the village anymore. No one in Enuff can even imagine what it must have been like to have had either too much or too little. But they all know the story of the village of Enuff and every year ('round about the time that you and I celebrate Thanksgiving) They have a big holiday party. Just to remember.


[4]

No comments:

Post a Comment