The other friends of the dynamic one would say, “You have such a lazy friend.” But he would answer, “What can I do? God has made some people active and some people inactive. This friend of mine is very nice to me, so I do everything for him.”
One day the active one said to the inactive one, “I do everything for you. Do you think that today you can go and buy some fruit and vegetables for us?”
The lazy one said, “No, I can’t go.”
The other said, “All right, I am going.”
He went to the market and got what they needed to eat. He came back with the vegetables and foodstuffs and said, “Now that I have got everything, do you think that you can cook today?”
The other one answered, “No, I can’t.”
The active one made the meal. It took him about an hour to cook everything. While he was cooking, he asked his friend, “Could you please set up the table now?”
The lazy one said, “No, I’m not in the mood to do that kind of thing.” So the energetic one set up the table.
After a little while the active one said, “All right, now the food is ready. Can you bring only two glasses of water?”
“Oh no!” protested the lazy one, “I can’t.”
The energetic one brought the water to the table and then he brought the food and asked, “Can you join me for the meal?”
The lazy one said, “In order to maintain our friendship, at least once I have to listen to your request. Otherwise, what will people think of me, and what will you think of me? People will speak ill of me and you will also feel sad. I can’t make you sad all the time. At least once I have to make you happy. You are such a gentleman; for once I have to prove that I can also be a kindhearted person. Therefore, I am willing now to eat with you.”
The other friend gave him a very soulful and grateful smile. He said, “Since you will listen to my last request, you definitely deserve my soulful gratitude. At least you have listened to one of my requests.”From:Sri Chinmoy,The mushroom and the umbrella, Agni Press, 1981
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