And that is Our Story, James Gerard [warren buffett book recommendations .TXT] 📗

And that is Our Story

Too afraid to join the fierce fighting, the young one could only gasp in horror as many a tall and mighty warrior fell in the olive green fields. Too weak to swing his sword of solid iron, he could only tremble as they came crashing down all around him.

 

The young one thought he had chosen wisely. He believed yielding such a heavy and sharp weapon, and by hiding among the brave men and women, that such strategies would save him from the enemy.   If not, he figured, by mere intimidation alone that no sword or spear or javelin or dagger from any opposing giant would take his life.

 

His inclusion into the battle was not one of choice, but came by his duty to the clan in which he was born.

 

The clan went back thousands and thousands of years. So did the clan that were their mortal enemies. Throughout the centuries, the two warring factions fought over the rich and fertile soil of the olive green fields. For the meat of wild cattle, they went to battle. For the plots of potatoes that grew all about, they went to war with mighty shouts. For the herbs and spices that sprouted everywhere, the life of their enemy was not spared.

 

Caught up in battle, the young one was paralyzed with fear. Then, as the valiant men and women from both sides continued to fall, he heard a voice coming from the heavens. He wondered how that could be. The noise from the battle was deafening.

 

Then, an even more deafening roar came from the sky. The clamorous sound came from what seemed like thousands and thousands of gods shouting out a command. The young one fell to the ground and curled up into a ball with his sword of solid iron wrapped tightly in his arms.

 

From the ground, he dared to take a peek at the olive green fields when an eerie silence fell upon the battlefield. All the warriors stopped where they stood and where they had fallen. As if frightened by the gods themselves, all looked to the sky and began to beg for mercy. As soon as their pleas started, they stopped. It appeared all the valiant men and women were frozen with fear as they stared into the faces of the gods. For now they could neither move nor speak.

 

The young one gasped as all the men and women, those from his clan and the enemy’s, were mysteriously knocked to the ground in a matter of seconds. It was as if a strong and mighty arm came in swinging to knock them off their feet.

 

He gasped again. What was happening could only have come from the gods demonstrating their mighty power. Immediately, the young one hid his eyes after the issue of a single command. It was spoken by what sounded like thousands and thousands of voices. “Flee!”

 

Without hesitating, all the valiant men and women jumped to their feet and went screaming from the olive green fields.

 

The young one was more than willing to obey the command of the thousands and thousands of voices. He too jumped to his feet and was ready to flee, but was unable to do so. Although he could not see the mighty arm that came sweeping over the battlefield, he knew that its hand had him by the legs. He could feel the grip of the fingers tighten as he struggled against the hold. He cried and begged for mercy, but there was no escape. It seemed the battle on the olive green fields would be his first and only fight. He closed his eyes to shut off the sight of the executioner. “Please, I beg you for a quick and merciful death.”

 

Within a matter of seconds, the plea was answered.   The sensation of being flung into the air to become a target for one of the god’s spears created a queasy feeling in the stomach. When he opened his eyes to see his executioner, however, the god and the spear were not seen. The young one, in a matter of moments, was looking down at the olive green fields as he flew through the air and then found himself sitting atop a mountain staring at an old one standing before him.

 

The old one stared back with such a look of fury that his body began to quiver and he quickly cast his eyes to the ground. Not wanting to offend the heavens if he were one of the powerful immortals, the young one asked, “Are you one of the gods?”

 

“I was just like you,” the old one screamed.

 

The young one cringed with fear at the sight of fire in the old one’s eyes. He tried to scamper away, but his legs would not move.

 

“What are you afraid of?” the old one shouted. He walked up to the young one and softly said, “How can you be afraid of that which you do not know? I demand to know.”

 

“I…I do not understand,” the young one cried.

 

The old one took a step back. He shouted, “Yes you do,” while pointing a finger towards the sky. He then took a step towards the quivering mass of flesh and smiled. “Be afraid of him that you do know and you will do well.”

 

The young one sobbed uncontrollably. He wanted to flee, but it still seemed as if the hand had hold of him. “Please, I do not want to die.”

 

The old one smiled. He knelt before the young one and whispered, “I was just like you. I was you. Yes I was.”

 

“Please!” the young one cried, “tell me what you want of me.”

 

“Look into my eyes,” the old one whispered.

 

The young one wiped away the tears and obeyed.

 

“My eyes see the youth I was, and your eyes see the old one you will become.”

 

“I do not understand,” the young one responded. He wiped more of the tears from his face and questioned the old one. “It is true, you were once young and I will be old, but how could we be the same?”

 

The old one laughed out loud. He turned from the young one and looked towards the peak of a mountain that was far, far away. “He does not understand my friends.”

 

“Who are you talking to?”

 

“I am not like you,” he roared, “I am you:

 

I too had the intention to hide myself under my kin’s cover of thunder, and to roll into the enemy’s village with the intent to pillage and plunder.

 

Like you, I was prepared to slay and to slaughter both our enemy’s fathers and mothers, sons and daughters.

 

I am you.   I sought to free our captured kin from those who believed they won from him the victory of wills on the olive green fields."

 

“Please, I’ve done no such things. For today was my first battle. I have neither slew nor slaughtered, pillaged nor plundered. I have never gained the freedom of any of my kin—”

 

“Silence!” the old one commanded. “Let me tell you young one a story by which you will understand. Now, look into my eyes and tell me what you see.”

 

The young one obeyed. Focusing on the old one’s gaze, he wondered what possibly could be seen. Then, the strangest feeling overcame him. For a moment, he could have sworn he was staring into his own eyes.

 

A calm suddenly came upon the young one, but he could not fully grasp the reason for the feeling. He then jumped to his feet, stepped towards the old one, then whispered, “I think…I mean…I thought I saw the old one I will be.”

 

“He is beginning to understand,” the old one turned and shouted to the mountain peak far, far away. “I was just like you. I thought I would fight that day in the olive green fields, but I hid at the feet of the tall and mighty giants that were the bravest in our clan. They were my shields against the swords and spears and javelins and daggers of our enemy.

 

“On that day, I too, like you, heard a noise coming from the heavens. It was as if there was a snake hissing in the sky. I looked but saw nothing. Then, like you, I curled my body in a defensive shield out of fear over the deafening noise. I too dared to take a peek at the sudden silence. I became aware that the others could hear the deafening hiss after they looked up into the sky. All the mighty giants that were struck to the ground and the ones that had been engaged in hand-to-hand combat suddenly froze where they were. To my astonishment, all that were struck down to the ground jumped to their feet.   Then all the mighty men and women looked to the sky and cried out for mercy. Amazingly, without a word uttered, all were so easily knocked off their feet by what I could only think of a snake slithering wildly through the olive green fields. Then, the hiss roared again as if to tell them all to flee. Each got up and ran away screaming. But I could not. For it seemed the snake had wrapped its body around me.

 

“Next thing I knew, I was dragged through the dry grass of the olive green fields and in a matter of seconds found myself in a field far, far away. And just like you, I looked and saw an old one standing before me.”

 

“‘I was just like you,’ the old one screamed at me.”

 

The young one inched closer to the old one standing before him. “He said that?”

 

“He did. And just like you, I could not understand. I was afraid. I thought for sure he was one of the gods and that I offended him. I thought for sure I was going to die.”

 

“What did you do?”

 

“What did I do? Well, I cringed with fear at the sight of fire in the old one’s eyes. That is what I did.”

 

“You did?” the young one said as he stood to his feet.

 

“Yes I did.” The old one then lunged at the young one and shouted, “He said, ‘What are you afraid of?’ Then, he bent over and softly whispered into my ear, ‘How can you be afraid of that which you do not know? I demand to know.’”

 

“‘I…I do not understand,’ I cried.”

 

“The old one took a step back. While pointing a finger at me he shouted, ‘Yes you do.’ He then took a step towards my quivering mass of flesh and smiled. ‘Be afraid of him that you do know and you will do well.’”

 

“And I, as the young one, sobbed uncontrollably. I wanted to flee, but it seemed the serpent still had hold of me. So, I decided to shout, ‘Please, I do not want to die.’”

 

“And that old one just smiled again. He knelt before me and said, ‘I was just like you. I was you. Yes I was.’”

 

“He said ‘he was you?’” the young one asked.

 

“Please!”

 

The young one fell back in fear.

 

“Silence,” the old one screamed. “How dare you interrupt our story.”

 

The young one sat down, shut his mouthy, and gazed into the old one’s eyes.

 

“‘Please,’ I cried, ‘I do not want to die. Tell me what you want of me.’”

 

“‘Look into my eyes,’ the old one whispered to me. I wiped away my tears and obeyed.”

 

“He then said to me, ‘My eyes see the youth I was, and your eyes see the old one you will become.’”

 

“‘I do not understand,’ I responded. I wiped more of the tears from my face and questioned the old one. ‘It is true, you were once young and I will be old, but how could we be the same?’”

 

“The old one laughed out loud. He turned from me and looked at the dry grass of the far, far away field. ‘He does not