The Parable of the Water by Davin Dahlgren, November 1996 A certain man bought a house. A short distance from the house was a fountain. Every day, the man took a bucket and walked to the fountain. He filled the bucket and returned home, where he gave portions of the water to his wife and children as they needed it. Before long, the man became tired of walking the distance to the fountain and began to devise a means for easing his burden. For though the distance was not far, he still loathed to carry the bucket when it was heavy with water. As he considered the situation, he thought that the best solution would be an aquaduct which would carry the water directly to the house in a constant stream. In this way, each of his family members could collect a small portion of the water as they needed, and there would be no need to fear that the day's ration of water would run out. The man built his aquduct, and indeed that water did flow readily to his house. His family then took what they wanted whenever they felt the desire and whatever remained spilled uselessly onto the ground and drained away. The man no longer needed his bucket, so he placed it outside by a corner of his house and promptly forgot about it. Then one day, the man began to notice that the water was not flowing as freely to his house as once it had. Thinking that perhaps the aquaduct had become blocked with leaves (for it was about the time when leaves began to fall from the trees), the man set out to find an answer to his problem. To his dismay, he found that the fountain itself was no longer producing the vast quantities of water that once it had. Perhaps this is only temporary, the man thought. Perhaps the fountain will begin to spring forth more fully tomorrow. But the next day the fountain produced even less water. It produced less still the following day. The man began to fear that his family would soon have no water at all. He began to collect water in jars and cups and bowls. Every container he could find in the house he filled with water until there was no more room to store water. Then remembered that he had left the bucket which he once used to carry the water outside by a corner of the house. He went outside to get it and found to his surprise that it was full of water. This was certainly a mystery, but he had more important things on his mind. He carried the bucket of water inside and announced to his family that they would have to carefully ration the water. By this time the fountain had dried up completely and their was no way of knowing when or if it would ever flow again. For some time, the man and his family used carefully the water they had saved. But it was soon exhausted and the family again wondered if they would perish of thirst. The man recalled the mysterious appearance of water in the bucket and again placed that bucket outside. That night, a dreadful storm hit. The wind blew, causing the man's house to creak eerily. The aquaduct, now useless, fell down. The rain beat mercilessly on the roof. Inside, the family cowered in fear. If the storm didn't kill them, they would certainly die of thirst. Exhauasted by their worries, they fell into an uneasy sleep. The next day, they awoke to find the house still standing, for which they were at least somewhat thankful. But what joy filled their hearts when they found that the bucket which they had left outside was filled to the brim with water! They rejoiced and laughed at how silly they had been. Of course! During the rainy season, they would always have water! It fell from the sky! For a time, the family relaxed and simply collected rainwater for their daily needs. The end of the rainy season came, as they knew it would, and they once again began to worry about where they might obtain water. They pondered and stewed and wondered and worried. Sadly, no answer came to them. Then one day the man's brother came to his house for a visit. They eagerly received the brother and showed him what hospitality they were able, but the worries which weighed on them dampened their spirits somewhat. The brother, seeing that they were troubled, asked them to tell him what was wrong. They told him that they desperately needed water, and that the whole area was dried up. There was no water anywhere. It was practically a drought. The brother laughed. The family was quite upset that he would treat their need so lightly. The brother went outside to his truck and returned with a jug full of water. "Here is some water, you silly fool. Take all you need." The man was angry and surprised. "Where did you get all this water? There is none to be found anywhere! And you laugh at us for going without? How can you be so cruel?" The brother replied, "I only laugh because you have tried so hard to provide water for yourself when our father owns the reservoir up-state. All you need is to ask, and he will send the water you need." "But it is so far away," the man complained. "And I have not spoken to father in years! He will not send water every day. We need a certain amount every day, and there is no reason to think that he will send it when we need it." The brother sighed. "You may collect water from the rainfall if you wish. You may collect water from the fountain every spring when the snows melt and the runoff causes it to flow again, but why worry about all that when your own father will deliver exactly what you need? If you would talk with him, you would find that he is quite willing to send what you need for drinking, for bathing, for washing clothes and dishes; all that you need each day is available to you. Father would even give you enough water to share with your neighbors if only you would speak to him again." With that, the brother left. With some trepidation, the man decided to contact his father. His father was overjoyed to hear from him. They talked for hours about many things. The man felt a closeness with his father which he had never known before. All too soon, it was time for the man to return to his family. As he prepared to leave, his father asked him, "Need any water?" The man gratefully accepted all that his father offered him, and though it was more than enough for the day, he eagerly promised to return the next day simply for the pleasure of visiting his father. [Return to Spiritual Studies]