Written on August 9th, 2009, during an extremely harsh and difficult period of my life, while navigating intense change. Although a parable, I do offer some rudimentary interpretation. Make of it what you will. At this juncture, it seems, coincidentally, quite relevant again.

There were two brothers of a strong pioneering spirit who desired to carve for themselves a place for their posterity in a new land. The one was gifted with rearing livestock and the other with raising various crops. They were close and loved each other deeply. They swore a pact to support each other in their quest and gathered their possessions and set out to a distant land.

The first had with him cattle, sheep, donkeys, goats all of various breeds to see which would survive the best in the land of their destination. The second loaded bags of seed from many different crop types as assurance for his success. And they journeyed.

They came to a beautiful land, uninhabited but with signs of some ancient people. They wondered why it was deserted; but there was plant growth that might sustain the livestock, some water and the ground did not seem too barren. It was beautiful and appealed to the pioneer in each of them. They decided to settle and put their hands to work.

As they worked together, each helping the other in his labours, they discovered that it was a harsh and unforgiving land, even as it was beautiful. Any survival cost hard work and much of the livestock could not flourish and so too the crops. In fact, the land was not suited at all to crops, and only to the hardiest of the livestock. Despite this they struggled on.

After many years, the first brother had grown great herds of sheep and goats and had many products from these. The second brother however, could not find a single crop that would survive more than to supply only their barest needs. Other strangers to this land had passed through in time and some rough settlements had developed and other pioneers followed. Through this the first brother continued to grow, while the second declined.

In time, although their love for each other did not suffer, the second brother began to hate the land because it could not give him what he desired, but the first kept his affection for this new land that had prospered him greatly. For this reason the second brother found he could not stay and eventually took a sad leave of his brother and his estates that had been built up. His hatred for the land and what it could not give him had rendered him bitter, despite its beauty and its apparent willingness to provide for his brother.

I have seen many people fall deeply in love with something, myself too, that just does not have the capacity to give them their predisposed desires; and instead of being satisfied with what it is capable of giving and thereby finding contentment in the relationship, they become bitter and end up hating this thing for simply being what it is.

So don’t hate the land. It is simply what it is. Don’t hate the weather, either, it does what it does. If, whatever it is, is not to your suiting, move on or take shelter before it makes of you something that you are not.

13 August 2021