As some of you know, right now I am working on a set of stories containing parables with life lessons and answers to real life problems within those stories. One idea I had was to explain to the reader why you just do not get something of real value for nothing. But after several days of turning the idea around and around in my mind, I am finding it very difficult to properly convey that message inside of an interesting parable type story.
I myself grew up in a life situation where anything and everything was only gained through hard work and real effort. There was never something to be had for nothing. Yet some people were always were on the lookout to find the elusive "something for nothing." Now I look around and I find not only a whole generation of people who not only want, but totally expect to receive "something for nothing," and they are teaching their children this same concept.
Many people of my own generation as well as generations before me grew up in a situation where obtaining the necessities of life was a struggle. Often we went hungry because there was very little to eat. We got one pair of footwear each year, as well as 2 pair of jeans, and 3 shirts as "school clothes"along with a few pairs of socks and underwear before school started and we had to make that last throughout the school year. Maybe at Christmas time we would get more new socks and if we had outgrown our winter coat, or if it was too torn and shabby, we may get a new one, provided that there was enough money. I guess it is because of the difficulties we ourselves faced when growing up that out of love, we wanted to give what we didn't have to our own children.
So our children grew up quite spoiled compared to the way we grew up and then the internet arrived on the scene and vol-la there was a whole new world of "free stuff" available. Free email accounts and a wealth of free information. Granted a lot of it is useless crap and misinformation but there is also some good and valuable info out there as well. All FREE! Something for nothing.. well it does take a lot of our time sifting through it all, waiting on pages to load if you still have dial-up and sometimes in trying different combos in search engines to help those engines comprehend what exactly it is that you are wanting to find. But its all free.. something for nothing!
This concept has even extended well beyond the internet into what is expected in real life. Instant gratification in a fast-paced society has also entered into the mix. So now not only do we want and expect to get something for nothing, we want it like NOW. Being a Wiccan High Priest and teacher, I saw it first in the new generation of young students back in the late 80's. They would come to us wanting us to teach them what we learned ourselves through hard work and monetary cost for materials and information and reap the benefits of our many, many hours of real life practical experience, plus expecting us to supply all of the books and materials for them.. again an out of the pocket expense for us, and give nothing at all back for financial support of the group. Then because these same types wanted everything "NOW" yet were unwilling to give anything back, they received nothing other than basic theory for their non-effort. After awhile of people taking and taking without reciprocating the energy, their comes a time where there is nothing left to give. Everything has been taken.
As I alluded to earlier, I grew up in a family that had very little. An ice cream cone may be something we enjoyed once every 2 or 3 years. But that also made it that much more delicious. Something we had to work hard for and earn, we valued because of the effort and sacrifice we had to give in order to achieve it. Anything free to us had no real value, and although that is the holy grail everyone is seeking, I feel that it still holds true. In everything we gain, there must be some sort of exchange of energy somewhere along the line. This is a simple law of nature. You can pour so much water into a container before it will either over-flow or burst from the pressure. You have "limited space" albeit for some there is a lot of "space" available, but it is finite, there comes a point where you have to give something away in order to make room for something new. There always has to be an exchange.
This all makes me think of why very few Pagan Ministers do much volunteer work. We work hard to make ends meet. We give of our time and knowledge to sincere seekers, and try to help guide them through the obstacle courses they are often confronted with. But we give so much of ourselves away to our groups that there is very little if anything left that we can give to others outside of our groups. Mainstream Ministers on the other-hand are financially supported either in whole or by part by their congregations and churches. This monetary support allows them the luxury of making nursing home, hospice, and prison visits. They are very active in community matters because they do not have to worry about the luxuries such as food, shelter and clothing not to mention travel expenses. Yet I have been asked and expected to drop everything, drive 200 miles or more to do a legal marriage for a Pagan couple at ten in the morning or on a Sabbat evening simply out of the goodness of my heart. Well when you cannot afford to buy food, when you have to buy cheap material and make your own clothes because you cannot afford to buy them, and you have to choose between buying medicine to keep you alive and something for breakfast, you simply cannot afford to do everything out of the goodness of your heart.
But after looking hard enough, and long enough I FINALLY found something for nothing that does indeed have real value. This is that in each one of us, there is the potential to create right there in our own minds and hands. We can make beautiful music, we can create art, we can express love, and caring. We can craft things and we can use the tools we possess, meaning our minds and bodies to achieve any goal we decide is actually worth the time and effort to achieve. We can connect to Spirit/Higher-self/God-dess. And this is all free. It costs us nothing at all and it is the most valuable "Something" of all.
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