A Parable For The Modern Rat Race

What matters is not always obvious

A needlessly dramatic photo of the author :)

A poor farmer lives in a small, beautiful mountain town. There is plenty of rain, and even though his family never gets ahead, they never go hungry.

He works hard to grow his food, but because the valley where they live is so fertile, he has time to play games with his children and the other people in the village. He and his wife have a strong relationship that has weathered many challenges.

Though he has plenty of friends and a loving family, he dreams of something more. He craves the riches that his neighbors have and envies what seems to be their success.

One day his friend drops by with a group of villagers while the farmer is working in his fields. 

“What are you doing, still working?” his friend says. “Haven’t you heard? There’s a holy woman passing through town, and the rumor is that she has the biggest diamond in the world! We’re all going to see it!” 

“I was going to sell my vegetables in the market today,” the farmer says. “I can’t go. Please tell me how beautiful it was when you get home!”

“There will be no one to sell the vegetables to, brother!” Replies his friend. “They’ll all be looking at the diamond! Come on!” 

The farmer agrees and decides to go with his friend. After all, the biggest diamond in the world? How many people get the chance to see that? 

When the villagers find the holy woman, she’s sitting under a tree, round and happy, smiling at everyone. Sure enough, there by her side sits the biggest diamond in the world, glistening like there’s no tomorrow. 

She speaks to the crowd, about tolerance, love, peace, and the spark of the divine that we all carry within us. But all anyone has eyes for is the diamond, and the people barely hear her. 

After the speech, people crowd in around the diamond, touching it, holding it, and making jokes about how they’re going to steal it. The holy woman barely notices, praying and meditating under the tree after her speech. 

One by one, the people of the town peel off, heading back to their homes. The farmer remains. He can’t take his eyes off the diamond. He imagines how different his life would be with it, how stable, how he wouldn’t have to work so hard for so little reward. 

When the holy woman comes out of her meditation, the farmer falls on his knees in front of her. 

“Please!” He shouts. “Tell me how to get a diamond like this! If only I had riches, my family would be secure! I’d be the richest man in my village. I’d be able to do so much good. Please! Where did you find this beautiful diamond? I’ll go anywhere to have one like it.”

The holy woman laughs from deep in her belly, a laugh that seems to shake the leaves of the trees above her. 

“If it would mean so much to you, brother, take the diamond! It is heavy, and I’m getting slower with all the cakes and delicious food people feed me in the villages I pass through” she says, patting her belly. 

The farmer blinks in disbelief. “Did you say what I think you just said? I’m not dreaming? You’d let me take the diamond?” 

“What do I need a diamond for? I’m a traveler. Everything I need is on my back. People give me food everywhere I go! Take the diamond. Feed your family. Make your village happy. Here.” 

The holy woman hands the diamond to the farmer and turns around, walking the path out of the village without a glance back. 

The farmer can’t believe his luck. Clutching the diamond tightly, he runs home to his wife. Bursting into his home, he tells her the story. She embraces him, and they start making plans for what they’re going to do with all the riches it will bring.

They travel to the capital and sell the diamond, and with the gold they receive in exchange, they build the biggest house in the village. They fill it with fine carpets, beautiful vases, portraits, and all the accessories that rich people surround themselves with.

The farmer becomes a merchant, and his business prospers. He makes many times what the diamond was worth.

But his success means that he must constantly travel away from his village. Even when he’s home, he hardly sees his children with all of the finances and ledgers he has to juggle.

The people of the village no longer treat him as a friend. Some avoid him entirely, despising him and spreading rumors that he stole the diamond. Some of them pretend to be dropping by for simple visits but always find ways to ask him for money.

If he doesn’t give them money, they disappear, often stealing things from his house on their way out. This hurts him, and he becomes miserly with his wealth. He stops giving money to anyone, even his own children.

The more he prospers, the more bitter and angry he becomes. One day, when his wife asks why he’s been so down, he snaps at her, raising his voice and saying something unkind for the first time in their long marriage.

In tears, she walks to their bedroom and shuts the door.

The farmer sinks to the floor, shocked by his own anger.

“What have I become?” He asks aloud. He curses the holy woman, curses the riches, curses himself until he runs short of breath. He walks over to the bedroom door and knocks, waiting for his wife to open it.

When she does, he embraces her, kissing her on the forehead and telling her how much he loves her.

“My darling, I’m so sorry! I’m going to make this right” he says.

The farmer packs a bag and heads for the capital city. He buys back the diamond for twice what he was paid for it, and strikes off to find the holy woman. He searches for her for weeks, hot on her trail in the villages that she’s passed through.

When he finally finds her, she’s living the exact same way. She’s sitting under a tree, speaking to a crowd about the same simple spiritual things. This time, he really listens.

How did she give that diamond away so easily? He begins to wonder. I was so focused on what the diamond would do for me, that I missed her message!

When she’s done speaking, and the people have wandered back to town, the farmer approaches her. She smiles, remembering him right away. The farmer begs her to come back and teach her wisdom to him and his family, promises her money and her own house and all the cakes she can eat.

Still smiling, she declines.

The farmer produces the diamond. “Please, take this back” he begs. “It’s brought me nothing but sorrow.” Even as he hands it over, his hands shake, knowing that he’s giving back such riches. But the thought of getting his close friends and family back is stronger than his desire for the diamond.

Without even looking at it, the holy woman drops it in her bag, says goodbye, and turns to leave to the next village.

“Just one thing, before you go” the farmer pleads. “Please tell me, how were you able to give up the diamond so easily?”

The holy woman throws back her head and laughs so loudly she startles the birds.

“With that question in mind, my friend, you can finally begin to live.”