Our Long-handled Spoons … ( 09 / 06 / 2014 )
Our Long-handled Spoons … ( 09 / 06 / 2014 )
One day , a devout man prayed to God to show him the nature of Heaven & Hell ... Seeing as how the man had lived a humble & generous life , God decided that such a request could be granted , and led the man to two doors … As the man looked on , the first door opened to show a large room that contained one large , round table . In the middle of the table was an enormous steaming pot of vegetable stew , and the aroma therefrom was so thick and smelled so hearty that the man ' s mouth couldn ' t help but begin to water .
And yet despite the obvious abundance found there , around that table were seated twelve of the thinnest , palest , sickliest people the man had ever seen , and the cause of their obvious despair soon became clear – for they each had only been given spoons with extremely long handles with which to eat , and while it was possible for all of them to reach the pot in the middle of the table to spoon out some of the stew , there was no way for them to bring that nourishment to their mouths .
" This ", said God , with more than a touch of solemnity , " is Hell ."
After the door to Hell closed , the second door opened . The man looked in and saw exactly the same room , containing exactly the same table , with exactly the same pot of stew for exactly the same twelve people seated around it , all of whom were holding exactly the same long-handled spoons . And yet this time everyone present was healthy & happy & rosy-cheeked , with eyes that laughed and mouths that smiled ... They were all completely content & at ease .
" This ", said God , with more than a touch of Peace , " is Heaven ."
The second door closed , and the puzzled man turned to God and said , " I don ' t understand . How is it so that the same twelve people can be so miserable in the first room and yet so happy in the second ?"
90