Of Glass Jars And Purpose

My wife and I were on one of our morning walks some time ago when we came upon a mother with her three young children by a lake. They were excited about something, and in my usual inquisitive manner I approached them to see what their excitement was about. 

"Good morning!" I said, "What are you guys so excited about this morning?". "Good morning!" they responded enthusiastically, and all turned to show us the little frogs they had placed in the glass jars they were holding. "Wow!" I said,  "Look at that!".  They were obviously very excited about the prizes they had gathered in their jars and were about to take home, until I decided to continue my conversation with them.

"Very interesting" I continued, as we got a little closer together with their Mom standing there, "but may I ask all of you a question". At this point they became rather attentive. What had started out as a casual encounter that would normally be very brief had become an extended social moment. 

As they came closer I said, "Imagine that you guys were little frogs, would you like to be put into little jars like these, or would you rather be in the lake where you could swim and enjoy your lives?" Without hesitation they all agreed that they would rather be free to enjoy their lives in the lake. "There you go!” I said, as they continued to reflect, and we said goodbye and continued our walk.

I can't say that they set those little frogs free because I did not see them do that. I hoped that they would... that was the reason for my calling them to reflection on their actions. Little frogs have as much right to enjoy their lives as little children do. 

We all have our purpose in the great ecology of Life. A glass jar is no substitute for a real and sustainable environment that serves to enable our fulfillment of our greater purpose for being here.