Long ago, some people
went in search of a place to live, somewhere they would be happy and
blessed.
One day, they came
across a river. The flow of the river was strong, and it brought
fresh, clean, pure water that was good to drink. The river teemed
with fish that were good to eat. The land beside the river was
fertile and productive. ‘This is a good place,’ their leader
said, ‘Let’s live here where we will have everything we need.’
And everyone agreed.
Some went back to where
they had come from to tell others what they had found,
and how good it was. Many more came to join them by the river, where
they too found happiness and blessing.
As the years passed,
they discovered that the flow of the river varied with the seasons
but always there was enough to eat and enough to drink. Sometimes
the river flooded the fields and swept away things they had built.
The people learned they did not really need the things they lost, and
that the river, on shrinking back to its course, left the land more
fertile and more productive.
The years rolled on,
and the people grew tired of the disruption the river brought,
preferring instead a settled, predictable way of life. ‘If only we
could control the flow,’ one of them said.
‘We should build a
dam,’ the leader said. ‘Then a lake will form that will
regulate the flow; we’ll barely notice it at all in the lake. There
will still be plenty of fish and plenty of water for our needs. The
lake will be calm and peaceful, and we can sail on it and swim in it
without fear of being caught up by the current.’
And everyone agreed.
The lake was beautiful,
and reflected in its calm surface the trees and mountains surrounding
it. The current hardly disturbed the lake-dwellers’ lives any
more, even in spring when the river above the lake became swollen
with the melted snows of winter. Everyone was content and at ease,
and they built all manner of interesting things—which were no
longer swept away as they used to be.
Other people lived
downstream, beyond the dam. They were not happy. The flow was not
as strong as before, and they could not irrigate their land properly.
The fish were not as plentiful, and in the height of summer there
was almost no water at all. They became disillusioned with life by
the river and went to look elsewhere for what they needed. They had
no time for the people above the dam, who guarded jealously what they
had, making it difficult for outsiders to move into the spaces around
the shore.
More years passed. The
leaders entertained the lake-dwellers with exciting stories of long
ago when the river ran strong and many more people lived gratefully
along its banks. They all looked fondly over their lovely, familiar
surroundings even as they listened. ‘It’s so restful here,’
one of them said, ‘I hope it never changes.’
And everyone agreed.
