One time, there lived 2 friends. Their names were Makou and Jima. They used to move together. At lunchtime, they could eat at Makou’s house and go to Jima’s house. In the evening, they could also eat supper together. In fact, there was no order to follow. They could start eating in anyone’s house.
There was only one thing that used to separate them; sleep. When the time for sleep came, each used to sleep in his own house. They became each other’s keeper for a number of years. In the whole village, their friendship was exemplary.
One time, the village was struck by drought and famine. It was so intense that people were dying in large numbers. Makou and Jima were still moving together. Gradually, food began becoming scarce in Makou’s house. A week later, there was no food at all in Makou’s house. For two weeks, they were eating in Jima’s house.
Then Jima began having issues with Makou. He felt bitter and wanted to destroy their friendship. But he had no good excuse to use. Each time Makou started a conversation, he would keep quiet. Sometimes, he would feel annoyed for no reason. He had wanted by all means to separate with Jima.
One time, he thought of lying to Jima and if Jima told him he was lying, he would use that as an excuse. Makou said, “An antelope gave birth on a palm tree today”. As a true friend, Jima told Makou that “you are lying”, an antelope does not climb on a tree. That was all. Makou became very annoyed and told Jima that, you disrespect me, from today onwards, our friendship is over. They separated.
Did you see what hunger does? Makou and Jima were great friends before famine and drought, but when famine struck the village, hunger dipped its satanic hands between them and separated them completely. Hunger filled Makou with hatred to chase away his longtime friend, Jima just because they no longer had food in his house.
Hunger blinded Makou to look at Jima as a useless person to move with. True friendship is a friendship where friends correct themselves. Jima had wanted Makou not to be a liar, but it turned out to be something that caused them to separate.
Looking at this economic crisis, so many friends are separating and many love relationships are breaking up. Hunger remains one of the disasters that not only claims lives, but also separates people beyond separation. This is why people should always take care during hunger.
People should control anger that accompanies hunger because it is the anger that helps hunger in tearing people apart. Even if someone tells you, God bless you, hunger can make you hear it like an insult. If anger is well controlled, nothing will separate people. During hunger, people should be extra careful. It creates sad stories to tell throughout the generations.
Friends should keep being friends. Lovers should keep being lovers. Spouses should keep being spouses. Colleagues should keep being colleagues. Hunger kills individual people more than it kills people living together. If there is little food available, it should be shared with one another. People do not eat to get satisfied or become fat during hunger, people eat to prevent the consequences of starvation from reaching a nebulous point. This way, people can resist hunger however much it has struck people.
What makes people fight during hunger cannot make them fight during satiation.
What separates people during hunger cannot separate them during satiation. However much hungry you are, keep to your original way of living your life.
Thanks for reading “Sowing the Seed of Truth”.