The Stonecutter

Once upon a time, there was a stonecutter. The stonecutter lived in a land where a life of privilege meant being powerful. Looking at his life, he decided that he was unsatisfied with the way things were, and so he set out to become the most powerful thing in the land.

Looking around his land, he wondered to himself, what is it to be powerful? Looking up, he saw the sun shining down on all the land. "The Sun must be the most powerful thing that there is, for it shines down on all things, and all things grow from its touch." So, he became the Sun.

Days later, as he shone his power down on the inhabitants of the land, there came a cloud, which passed beneath him, obstructing his brilliance. Frustrated, he realised that the Sun was not the most powerful thing in the land, if a simple cloud could interrupt his greatness. So, he became a cloud. In fact, he became the most powerful storm that the world had ever seen.

And so, he blew his rain and lightning, and resounded with thunder all over the land, demonstrating that he was the most powerful. Until one day, he came across a boulder.

Down and down he poured, and his thunder roared, lightning flashed and filled the sky, striking the ground near the boulder. His winds blew and blew and blew, and yet, despite all his efforts, he could not budge the boulder.

Frustrated again, he realised that the storm was not the most powerful thing in the land. Rather, it must be the boulder. So, he became the boulder.

For days he sat, unmovable and impassive, demonstrating his power, until one day, a stone cutter came and chiselled him to bits.

The moral of the story is: sometimes the most important thing to remember is that you have everything you need already, right inside of you. Power is an illusion.