Life's Fountain

Life’s Fountain

Four men were walking down the streets of a city.
One from the north, one from the south, one from the east and one from the west.
They were all heading to the same place, the fountain in central park.
Arriving within the same time they were standing in the four corners of the fountain.
Gazing at the rippling waters of the ever flowing fountain each one had the same thought.
As they looked down into the water they each noticed something different, the color of the water. The man from the north was cast in shadows, so to him the water was brown.
The man from the south was in the bright sunlight, so to him the water glistened gold.
The man from the east looked to the shallows, so to him the water was green.
The man from the west looked into the depths, so to him the water was blue.
So here they were all at the same fountain, but each one with a different thought of the
fountain's water. However, as they each looked at the water flowing from the fountain's peak they all had the same vision. The water was crystal clear and glistened in the bright sunlight. Each one believed in their thought of the fountain's water and each one was correct in their vision of the water flowing at its' peak.
After this each continued his walk. North to south, south to north,
east to west and west to east with their thought and vision to share with others.
But they never knew or shared with each other. So four thoughts were created out of one vision.

As generations past the sons of the men returned to the fountain. One from the north, one from the south, one from the east and one from the west.
As they walked up to four corners of the fountain the water was still and dark. The water barely flowed from the peak, trash floated on the surface, slime covered the fountain and a thick layer of muck rested at the bottom of the once pure fountain.
As if in unison they all had the same thought. To fix the fountain's pump, clear the surface, scrub off the slime, and remove the muck and restore the fountain to the purity their father's had told them about. So each one entered the water at the same time and looked strangely at each other. The man from the north began to fix the pump, the man from the south began to clear the trash, the man from the east began to scrub off the slime and the man from the west began to the clear the bottom.
Once the pump was fixed, the trash removed and the slime scrubbed off they noticed the man from the west was still clearing the bottom. The muck was thick and the water deep. So the three men looked at each other dove to the deep depths of the fountain and began to help the man from the west. The four of them working together were able to finish in a short time and as they reached the bottom of the fountain they were amazed at what they found.

The bottom was covered with riches of gold, silver, jewels of all kinds and tokens from all parts of the world from people who had visited the fountain over time. The men surfaced and thought of what to do. Their traditions held these were the wishes, respects, sacrifices and prayers of the many people who visited the fountain over time. They decided to remove all the riches at the bottom and display them around the fountain for future generations to see and admire. As they started their task people began to gather from all over the land and began to help the men recover all the treasures at the bottom of the fountain. Over time the pile grew high and surrounded the fountain for miles. No one could believe the mass amounts of what the fountain held. But soon it was all recovered and a majestic sight was now surrounding the fountain.

Now the four men talked and decided to clear paths to the fountain. One from the north, one from the south, one from the east and one from the west leading to a single path around the fountain for future generations to visit the fountain. The people from the north and west would keep the fountain working and the bottom clear. The people from the south and east would keep the surface clean and guard the fountain and its' treasures.  After this was done the four men stood at the fountain and admired what they had done. They were proud of their work and the people were happy.

Over time treasures grew and life was good for the people of the world as other places began to be cleaned and returned to the purity they once held. The fountain started something that grew and gave the people of the world a common goal and an understanding of how the world once was.
The fountain of life continued to work and remain clean forever more and the treasures surrounded it for miles and miles ever lasting. .

Spread Peace and Love will follow.

(c) Bryan A. Stross 10/21/ 2008