The Stone Soup.

A parable of sharing.

Deprivation brings out the worst in humans.

We have a tendency to hoard in times of deprivation. When resources are scarce, we pull back and put all of our energy into self-preservation. Nobody is richer in the process.

Here is a story.

” A traveler came into a town beset by famine. The inhabitants tried their best to discourage the traveler from staying, fearing he would want them to give him food. There’s no food anywhere to be found, they told him. The traveler explained that he didn’t need any food and that, in fact, he was planning to make a soup to share with all of them.

All the villagers watched him suspiciously as he built a fire and filled a cauldron with water. With great ceremony, he pulled out a stone from a bag and dropped it into the pot of water.

He sniffed the brew extravagantly and exclaimed how delicious the STONE SOUP is.

As the villagers began to show interest, he mentioned how good the soup would be with just a little cabbage in it. A villager brought a cabbage to share.

Gradually the villagers shared cabbage, carrots, onions, and beets and a tasty soup was ready. It was indeed, a substantial soup that fed everyone in the village.”

In our day to day life, we hoard ideas, love, and energy, thinking we will be richer if we keep to them to ourselves. But in truth, we make the world, and ourselves, poorer whenever we greedily stockpile our reserves.

If you can come forward and share your gifts, you will inspire others to do the same. The reward is a banquet that can nourish many.