James Bender, in his book, HOW TO TALK WELL (New York:
McGraw-Hill Book Co.,
Inc., 1994) relates the story of a farmer,
who grew award-winning corn. Each year, he entered his corn in
the state fair, where it won a blue ribbon.
One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned
something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter
discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his
neighbors.
"How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your
neighbors, when they are entering corn in competition with
yours, each year?" the reporter asked.
"Why sir," said the farmer, "didn't you know? The wind picks
up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to
field.
If my neighbors grow inferior corn, cross-pollination will
steadily
degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I
must help my neighbors grow good corn."
He is very much aware of the connectedness of life. His corn
cannot improve unless his neighbor's corn also improves.
So it is with our lives. Those, who choose to live in peace,
must
help their neighbors to live in peace. Those, who choose to
live
well, must help others to live well, for the value of a life is
measured
by the lives it touches. And those, who choose to be happy,
must
help others find happiness, for the welfare of each is bound up
with the welfare of all.
The lesson for each of us is this: if we are to grow good
corn, we
must help our neighbors grow good corn.