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Five animals were trying to cross a bridge, a cat, a dog, a cow, a pig, and a goat. The cat went first. Just then, a strong gust of wind came and knocked the cat off the bridge into the water below. The cat swam to shore then called to the other animals, “It’s the wind’s fault that I can’t cross the bridge. I am giving up.” The dog went next. Just then, a bird swooped down from the sky and pecked at the dog’s head. The dog panicked and ran back past the other animals. As he ran, he proclaimed, “It’s the bird’s fault that I can’t cross the bridge. I am giving up.” Next went the cow. As the cow stepped onto the bridge, the sun came out from behind a cloud and shown directly into the cow’s eyes. Unable to see, the cow stopped in it’s tracks, backed up, then walked into the trees to hide his eyes from the sun. From the trees, the cow called to the pig and the goat, “It’s the sun’s fault that I can’t cross the bridge. I am giving up.” The pig and the goat looked at each other and then the pig squinted his eye’s, looked down, and started making his way across the bridge. As the pig looked down, he noticed just how far above the ground the bridge was. His pudgy legs began to quiver in fear. He squealed, turned around, and ran past the goat, shouting “I’m afraid of heights! It’s the height’s fault that I can’t cross the bridge. I am giving up.” The goat stood there for a moment and considered his options. Finally, he cautiously stepped out onto the bridge. Just then, a gust of wind blew, but the goat caught himself and stayed on the bridge. Then a bird swooped down and pecked at the goat’s head, but the goat nipped back at the bird and it flew away. Next, the sun returned from behind the cloud and blinded the goat. The goat, squinted his eyes, looked down, and continued walking across the bridge. As he walked, like the pig, he noticed the great height of the bridge. His legs began to tremble a bit, but then he got a hold of his senses, kept walking forward, and eventually made it across the bridge to the other side. From there, he shouted to the other animals, “Hey guys. I made it!” The four animals just looked at each other, shook their heads, and marveled. “Wow.” they said, “Some animals have all the luck. I wish it had been that easy for us.” Then the cat, dog, cow, and pig all went away, never to cross the bridge.

“If it’s never our fault, we can’t take responsibility for it. If we can’t take responsibility for it, we’ll always be its victim.” ~Richard Bach

“We are taught you must blame your father, your sisters, your brothers, the school, the teachers – you can blame anyone but never blame yourself. It’s never your fault. But it is always your fault, because if you wanted to change, you’re the one who has got to change. It’s as simple as that…” ~Katharine Hepburn

There was a certain village with a tree with fruit that could bring healing to all who ate of it. As has been described in other stories, the residents of the village were divided as to who should have access to the healing power of the tree. Some felt that the tree was only for the villagers plus a few select “outsiders” while others felt it should be available to everyone. Among those who believed that the tree was for everyone, there were many ideas about how the tree could best be used, often for some sort of personal gain. Some devised ways to convince others, mostly outsiders, that they must pay money to access the tree. Some villagers convinced others that the only way to be worthy of accessing the tree was to first perform certain acts of kindness. More times than not, these good deeds mostly benefited those who requested them. Some villagers convinced others that anyone who approached the tree must first make himself clean. Many of the sickest people, those who needed the fruit of the tree most, were convinced they were unworthy and so they either relied on “clean” villagers to get the fruit for them or they gave up altogether. Recognizing the power of the tree but not having much power of their own, some villagers made a big show out of the healing power of the fruit. They set up large tents with lots of chairs and a stage and they invited many to come and watch the healing take place. There was lots of cheering and clapping. This was done to bring glory to the villagers on stage, and not to the tree itself. Some villagers felt so strongly that the tree should be accessed by all that they physically dragged some people to the tree and tried to force-feed the fruit to others, even those who absolutely did not want to be healed. Worst of all, however, were the villagers who set up fake trees made to look like the healing tree. They convinced others to come to these trees and eat their fruit. Some of this fruit would make its eaters feel good for a while but would never bring real healing. Most of this fruit would actually make those who ate it worse off than they were before. These fake trees had many variations and the villagers who set them up did so for lots of reasons. In any case, all the villagers described here committed a great injustice against the real tree and deterred many outsiders from ever wanting to approach the healing tree themselves.

In the center of a certain village there was a special tree, a healing tree. All who ate of the fruit of the tree were healed from their ailments, from broken bones and lethal cancers to bug bites and bruises. The people of the village were divided as to who should have access to the tree. Some felt that the tree was for everyone so that all who so desired could be healed. Others felt that the tree was intended only for them and a select few “outsiders” who they deemed worthy of healing. Regardless of how the villagers felt about the tree, the good news of its healing qualities spread far and wide. Visitors came from all around to eat of its fruit. If a visitor chanced to run into an “all are welcome” villager, they needed only to ask and they would be brought directly to the tree. If they chanced to encounter an “only the elite” villager, they would be greeted with equal kindness until they asked about the tree, at which point they would be thrown out of the village! Try as they might, the “elite” villagers could not keep all outsiders away from the tree. In addition to being helped by the “all are welcome” villagers, some visitors would simply sneak their way to the healing tree and steal away with its fruit. The more that was taken from the tree, the more that it produced, and in that way nothing was lost, only gained. Knowing that some “outsiders” were accessing the tree and being healed without their consent, the “elite” villagers reasoned with themselves that either a few outsiders really did belong and that they just didn’t know it, or they reasoned that they weren’t really being healed. In time, the villagers who wanted to ostracize the outsiders from the tree became so wrapped up in their crusade that they neglected to go to the tree for their own needs, even to the point of death!

A young beaver named Bennie made up in his mind to work hard and to gain many riches and possessions for himself. When he was old enough, Bennie became an employee of a dam building company that greatly admired his work ethic. Bennie worked more than any of the other employees, almost 45 hours per week! He hardly even stopped to rest or eat! About the only thing that Bennie did besides work was shop! When Bennie first left his parents’ home, he had to rent a room in someone else’s house and he could only afford the essentials like bath towels, clothes, shoes, and food. As time wore on, Bennie increased his work time to 50 hours per week and his employer rewarded him with more money. With this, Bennie was able to buy bigger and nicer things like a used motorcycle and a portable music player. Eventually he was even able to move into an apartment of his own. The apartment was very small of course but it was all his. As the years passed, Bennie’s employer decided to make him the Supervisor. This meant a lot more responsibility but also a lot more money. Bennie now had to work 60 hours per week, but he didn’t mind because now he could afford a large apartment, a brand new car, and a wireless phone that could play music and surf the Internet! Bennie didn’t spend all of his money though. He saved a small amount of it each week in a special place. After many years, he had saved enough money to start his own dam building company! He bought all the necessary supplies, hired many employees, and even hired an advertising agency to handle his marketing. As owner of the company, Bennie had a lot of things to do like patrolling construction sites, signing paychecks, and firing unsafe employees. He had so many duties as the owner that he now had to work over 80 hours per week. Since Bennie was a hard worker and was very focused on his company, his company started making lots of money, millions in fact! Bennie became the richest beaver in the whole forest. He bought a ridiculously over-sized seven-bedroom house that included a garage large enough to store his eight cars. He bought the nicest clothes and ate only the best food. He bought a sail boat, a motor home, and a private jet. Bennie had everything he had ever hoped to gain. There was just one thing missing, but Bennie didn’t know what it was. Eventually, Bennie began to grow old and was unable to work as often as he wanted to. That gave him more time to shop and play with his “toys” but he was often too tired for those things too. When Bennie was very old and starting to get sick, he had to stop working and sell his company to another beaver. By this time, he just didn’t have enough energy to enjoy any of the things he had bought for himself. Nor did he have the energy, or even the desire, to buy more stuff. Bennie spent most of his last days and nights alone in his huge house staring at his huge television while lying in his huge bed. When he had reached a certain age, Bennie died. Since he had no wife or children, Bennie’s home and all of his possessions were given to his nieces and nephews and their children. Sadly, Bennie didn’t know any of these relatives because he had spent most of his life working. On the day of his funeral, not one animal came to attend. Read more…