September 27, 2009
Two brothers lived in a farming
village. One day, while they were out
working in the open fields, there was an earthquake. When the tremors stopped, the brothers ran to
the village. They found many buildings
had fallen down and many people had been killed, including both their parents
and both their wives. After the burial
ceremonies, one brother stayed by the graves, weeping day and night. The other brother went back to the village
and spent his days and nights helping the injured, helping clear away the
damage, helping rebuild the city, and preserving the crops. He wept often, too, but few people saw that
because he was working.
After
a while, that brother went to the cemetery to visit his brother and the
graves. His brother was still there,
grieving, bereft and depressed, and said, "It seems to me you didn't love
our parents and your wife as much as I loved our parents and my wife."
The other brother was quiet for a long
time. Then, in the gentlest of voices,
he said, "So it seems. So it
seems. I love you, my brother."
