Prologue:
A man was captured and brought to a farm to live as a slave.
Every day he was forced to wake before dawn and plow fields, crush boulders,
and other difficult tasks until long after dark. The farm was full of people
just like him - slaves for no reason other than that they had the ability
to work. The days went on, and the longer he remained a slave, the more he
saw the others die - some from the work, others killed by the men who ran
the farm. Each day the man saw nothing but hate, pain, and death - until one
day. On that day, the man who owned the farm called the slave forward, and
told him to tell a story in an attempt to convince the owner that he should
let him go free. The following is what the slave told him:
The Parable of the Robin
written by Nathaniel Jones, as told by the wary slave
This morning as I was plowing the field, I looked to my side
and saw a robin, singing on the branch of a tree. I thought to myself, why would
this bird, with its wings capable of flight, choose to visit such a place as
this that hangs heavy with dread and pain? I watched this bird, and imagined
what he must be thinking of me, a man, plowing the field like an ox. The bird
chirped at me, and I whistled back. We had a connection, that bird and I, and
we gained an understanding. We were able to see each other and communicate,
and what the bird said to me was "fear not."
I told the bird of my life in that brief moment, and all the pain and fear I felt; how I was helpless, and could not be free. But the little robin just chirped a laugh, and said "You silly human! You are already free! As you plow your field, you are living, and thinking, and feeling. You may feel sadness, but sadness is like rain - it causes discomfort at the time, but beautiful things can grow from it. You choose how to live the life you have received, and all you must do to live free is love with all your heart, feel with all your soul, and forgive with all your body. No amount of pain can keep you prisoner if you do these things. Be free." And with that, the bird flew off into the sky. As I watched that bird fly, I gave a sigh of relief, and continued plowing. But it was not as it was before - the weight seemed to disappear, and rather than plow out of fear, I plowed out of love, and realized that despite my discomfort, I truly was a free man.