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's
very proud of her and always wanted to show off her 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's 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, "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." The merchant looked up and there was his
first wife. She was so skinny, almost like she suffered from malnutrition.
Greatly grieved, the merchant said, "I should have taken much better care
of you while I could have !"
Actually,
we all have 4 wives in our lives
a. 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.
b. Our 3rd
wife ? Our possessions, status and wealth. When we die, they all go to others.
c. 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.
d. 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's a good idea to cultivate and strengthen it now rather than to wait until
we're on our deathbed to lament
Make it a
great week!
----------------------------------------------------
No comments:
Post a Comment