June 18, 2001
Last week I used a quote from Cesar Chaves regarding our only true
possession, our own life. It
yielded some wonderful responses. One
response came from Nancy Barlow of Barlow Advertising who is responsible for the
Awaken The Soul logo. Before
reading our message she
sent us an e-mail with a story she received from a beautiful young lady Duangdao
Taithongchai or Dao who worked for Nancy and now lives in Thailand.
After reading Awaken’s message Nancy fired off a second note about the
striking similarities between our note and the story that follows.
I hope you enjoy this story and appreciate the fact that it came from
half way around the world (for most of our readers) at the same time I was
pondering a similar thought.
The
Story of Four Wives
Unknown Author
There was a rich
merchant who had 4 wives. He loved
the 4th wife the most and adorned her with rich robes and treated her to
delicacies. He took great care of
her and gave her nothing but the best. He
also loved the 3rd wife very much. He
is very proud of her and always wanted to show her off to his friends.
However, the merchant is always in great fear that she might run away
with some other men. He too, loved his 2nd wife.
She is a very considerate person, always patient and in fact is the
merchant is confidante. Whenever the merchant faced some problems, he always
turned to his 2nd wife and she would always help him out and tide him through
difficult times. Now, the
merchant’s 1st wife is a very loyal partner and has made great contributions
in maintaining his wealth and business as well as taking care of the household.
However, the merchant did not love the first wife and although she loved him
deeply, he hardly took notice of her.
One day, the
merchant fell ill. Before long, he knew that he was going to die soon.
He thought of his luxurious life and told himself, I now I have 4 wives
with me. But when I die, I’ll be
alone. How lonely I’ll be!
Thus, he asked the 4th wife, “I loved you most, endowed you with the
finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I’m dying, will you
follow me and keep me company?” “No way” replied the 4th wife and she
walked away without another word. The
answer cut like a sharp knife right into the merchant’s heart.
The sad merchant
then asked the 3rd wife, “I have loved you so much for all my life.
Now that I’m dying, will you follow me and keep me company?”
“No!” replied the 3rd wife. “Life
is so good over here! I’m going
to remarry when you die!” The
merchant’s heart sank and turned cold.
He then asked
the 2nd wife, “I always turned to you for help and you’ve always helped me
out. Now I need your help again. When I die, will you follow me and keep me
company?” “I’m sorry, I
can’t help you out this time!” replied the 2nd wife. “At the very most, I
can only send you to your grave.” The
answer came like a bolt of thunder and the merchant was devastated.
Then a voice
called out: “I’ll leave with you. I’ll
follow you no matter where you go.”
Actually, we all have 4 wives in our lives.
The 4th wife is our body. No
matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it look good, it’ll leave
us when we die. Our 3rd wife? Our
possessions, status and wealth. When
we die, they all go to others. The
2nd wife is our family and friends. No
matter how close they had been there for us when we’re alive, the furthest
they can stay by us is up to the grave. The 1st wife is in fact our soul, often
neglected in our pursuit of material wealth and sensual pleasure.
Guess what? It is actually the only thing that follows us wherever we go.
Perhaps it is a good idea to cultivate and strengthen it now rather than
to wait until we’re on our deathbed to lament.
With respect, acceptance, and
love,