When God created man, he asked him what he wanted to be. The man was still young and inexperienced, and therefore was somewhat confused by such a question and said: “I don’t know.”
Then God took the man by the hand and led him to the sea. Taking him to the shore, God showed him the shells lying on the bottom of the sea and said:
- If you want, you can choose the life of a shell - you will be at the very bottom, among millions of people just like you, and your food will be only what the current brings you. Your day today will be similar to yesterday, and your whole life will pass without risk and shock. Neither victories nor defeats will bother you. All the time you will lie on the bottom, only opening and closing the doors. And so from morning to evening: open, close, open, close.
After showing man the life of a shell, God led the man into the mountains. And there, high in the mountains, he pointed out to him an eagle’s nest.
“But if you want, you can choose this life for yourself.” You will be able to soar as high as you want, you will be able to live the way you want, you will be able to reach the highest peaks, and at these peaks you will meet only a few people like you. You yourself will determine where and how you fly, and the price of all this will be that nothing will ever get to you for nothing. Every day you will go in search of food and get it with sweat and blood. You can choose this life too if you want.
And since then there have been people in the world who chose the life of a shell for themselves, and a few who chose for themselves the life of an eagle.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru