Letter: Böll’s anecdote is Mexican parable’s real inspiration
What a lovely letter . But I’d wish to correct the description of a “Mexican parable”. I believe the parable is from the short story Anecdote concerning the lowering of productivity by the German writer Heinrich Böll. It tells the same story but the dialogue this time is between a fisherman “on the western coast of Europe” and a “smartly dressed tourist”. It was written in 1963 and first broadcast by a German radio station.
Through virtual performances, the Spiritual Warriors have played some high-profile shows even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo submitted
The world may have shifted online in a big way because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but Leroy Joe and the rest of award-winning Lil’wat Nation band The Spiritual Warriors continue to make connections.
Kenyan runner Abel Mutai was only a few meters from the finish line, but got confused with the signs and stopped, thinking he had finished the race. A Spanish man, Ivan Fernandez, was right behind him and, realizing what was going on, started shouting to the Kenyan to keep running. Mutai did not know Spanish and did not understand.
Realizing what was going on, Fernandez pushed Mutai to victory. A reporter asked Ivan, “Why did you do this?” Ivan replied, “My dream is that one day we can have some sort of community life where we push ourselves and help each other win.” The reporter insisted “But why did you let the Kenyan win?” Ivan replied, “I didn’t let him win, he was going to win. The race was his.”
The reporter insisted and asked again, “But you could have won!” Ivan looked at him and replied: “But what would be the merit of my victory? What would be the honor of this medal? What would my Mother think of it?” The values are transmitted from generation to generation. What values do we teach our children and how much do you inspire others to earn? Most of us take advantage of people’s weaknesses instead of helping to strengthen them.
Interpretation
We need to remain true to our values at all times whether or not we win in the so called external achievements. This is what makes us true winners in the journey of our lives.
I am an author, writer and a trainer in spoken and written English.
My journey of stepping into writing began I realized that there are many ideas I wished to convey to all without sounding judgmental or patronizing. Writing then became my passion as I was able to do all of this quite effectively. This connected me with a variety of people who shared their journeys with me. In the midst of all this, I was diagnosed and recovered from multiple sclerosis that also got published as a book. I am certain that my recovery was possible not just because of the techniques that I used, most of which was alternative healing techniques but also because I used the approach of body, mind and spirit healing, where the spirit gives us faith, mind gives us positivity and the body follows the instructions that it receives. I have been the Asst Editor of Life Positive magazine and trained people, both children and adults in spoken and written English. All through my journey, I have realized how powerful writing is to convey messages of who we are. Now, six books of mine have been published. These comprise of two books for children; a collection of short stories on religion and an adventure story published by Rupa & Co. A book of Teaching Stories published by Life Positive in 2008. More Teaching Stories published in 2011, Elixir for Zylake, a childrens’ book published by Life Positive in December 2013 and Dancing with Life published by Hay House in 2015. I have also self-published a novel on Kindle recently. The novel is all about the quest of identity interwoven in the loves and lives of three generations of people in India and Afghanistan. The story conveys the emotions of people in the pre-independence era when Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan and Mahatma Gandhi were pretty active in spreading their message of non-violence. It shows how common people were affected both by physical violence and non-inclusion in their own land. Some pre-Independence violence and disharmony is conveyed while even the current terrorism and intolerance is brought out with the end ending on a note of hope and love. The primary message that the novel seeks to convey is the commonality of all people and their emotions and a search that all of us have for our own roots and identity. The novel ultimately brings out the fact that humanity is indeed one and our identity, no matter what the origin may be, is one of oneness, unity and love. For, we all are indeed from the same source, whatever we may call it.am an author, writer and a trainer in spoken and written English.
My journey of stepping into writing began I realized that there are many ideas I wished to convey to all without sounding judgmental or patronizing. Writing then became my passion as I was able to do all of this quite effectively. This connected me with a variety of people who shared their journeys with me. In the midst of all this, I was diagnosed and recovered from multiple sclerosis that also got published as a book. I am certain that my recovery was possible not just because of the techniques that I used, most of which was alternative healing techniques but also because I used the approach of body, mind and spirit healing, where the spirit gives us faith, mind gives us positivity and the body follows the instructions that it receives. I have been the Asst Editor of Life Positive magazine and trained people, both children and adults in spoken and written English. All through my journey, I have realized how powerful writing is to convey messages of who we are. Now, six books of mine have been published. These comprise of two books for children; a collection of short stories on religion and an adventure story published by Rupa & Co. A book of Teaching Stories published by Life Positive in 2008. More Teaching Stories published in 2011, Elixir for Zylake, a childrens’ book published by Life Positive in December 2013 and Dancing with Life published by Hay House in 2015. I have also self-published a novel on Kindle recently. The novel is all about the quest of identity interwoven in the loves and lives of three generations of people in India and Afghanistan. The story conveys the emotions of people in the pre-independence era when Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan and Mahatma Gandhi were pretty active in spreading their message of non-violence. It shows how common people were affected both by physical violence and non-inclusion in their own land. Some pre-Independence violence and disharmony is conveyed while even the current terrorism and intolerance is brought out with the end ending on a note of hope and love. The primary message that the novel seeks to convey is the commonality of all people and their emotions and a search that all of us have for our own roots and identity. The novel ultimately brings out the fact that humanity is indeed one and our identity, no matter what the origin may be, is one of oneness, unity and love. For, we all are indeed from the same source, whatever we may call it. It can be seen at https://www.amazon.in/Quest-Love-Enlightenment-Jamuna-Rangachari-ebook/dp/B075YCQGXC
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