What He Didn’t See
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Imagine a small group of Greeks leisurely gathered under a grape arbor for a little afternoon ‘discourse’ some 2500 years ago. During their conversation they touch upon a subject that begs input from a missing comrade…who that day is regrettably some ten miles away. While bemoaning his absence–and the impossibility of easily fetching him–a stranger from the future suddenly beams down and proceeds to enlighten them on how easy it would be to bring their friend to the gathering…if only they would be willing to undertake the following:
| He then described how they could drill oil wells, build pipelines and refineries and factories and roads and vehicles, etc., etc., and then, in a trice, they could easily drive over and pick their friend up! Or better, give him a call, and invite him to drive over himself. He then concluded with a brief slide show giving them a glimpse of the many additional wonders they would discover as a result their effort. |
When finished, he asked if they might like him to stick around for a bit to help get the process started. They talked among themselves briefly, and then politely declined. He asked them why. They explained that while the end result might be appealing, the cost of achieving it was far beyond their means…as well as their needs.
“Yes, but think about your children,” he said. “Think what you’d be doing for them!”
They studied him carefully for a moment, and then replied: “That’s precisely why we must decline. Because it is not so much what we would be doing ‘for’ them, but ‘to’ them.”
The Greeks then invited him to have a seat, relax for a bit, and take a look at something they thought he should see before he returned back to his future.
He thanked them for the offer, but instead beamed himself quickly away. Which is too bad, because this is what he would have seen had he stayed:
