The Hole

The hole...it was always there...I think we just learned to walk around it.
It was of no consequence...it just....was. No one talked about the hole,
what it might entail to get it fixed or repaired, no they just avoided it.
With time the hole crumbled around the edges and became even bigger,
but still it was walked around, avoided, of no consequence.
Until one day the hole became a gaping chasm with no way around it!
They had avoided it for so long that the hole like a festering sore had gotten bigger and infected,
and was threatening to do great damage.
They finally decided they must talk about the hole, and determine how to fix it.
Once they started talking about the hole a whole can of worms was opened!
Who dug that hole, and why did they dig it, and why hadn't it been repaired immediately?
Blame was strewn around plentifully, no one wanted to admit to wrong doing.
Eventually they were all yelling at each other, and over each other so that no one could be heard.
One person stood in the middle and yelled for quiet. Eventually all became silent, but it did take some doing.
"Please one at a time' she said "we are not accomplishing anything". At this a old grizzled man
came up. "I dug the hole he said", and they all looked at him astonished.
"I dug the hole many years ago" he said. 'I dug the hole to bury my shame, but could not bring myself to cover it".'Why" he was asked? "I was afraid that the shame I buried would grow, and become large enough for everyone to see. So I left the hole open and hoped no one would notice it."
"What was your shame they asked? We have a right to know it has cost us much, and we will have to repair it". He couldn't or wouldn't answer. An old woman came forward, and said "I know why I knew him way back when. He wounded a young bird, and left it paralyzed with fear. That's his shame from way back when". At this the old man hung his head and wept. At first the crowd was angry, but then they saw his anguish and they pitied him. He had caused himself far more pain trying to hide his shame than if he had dealt with it. The crowd dispersed. They had decided they would help the old man fix the hole.
They worked many days repairing the damage the neglected hole had made, but eventually it was repaired, and a beautiful tree was planted in the place the hole first originated. Why a tree you may ask?
This is what the old man said after some contemplation "A tree is a peaceful thing. It listens and does not judge, It's beauty and majesty are unparalleled. The tree will remind me, and you  that yes there was a hole, but holes can be filled with beauty if we put the right things in them".

Donna Evans 6-5-2013