A little bit of both

 

"Desire is half of life; indifference is half of death." 

           _Khalil Gibran, Sand, and Foam 

Long ago, in a land far far away, lived a boy who was eager to know the way to live a full life. He went to an elderly once to ask for the cure for what he called "Parasites of Life." 

The elder listened to the boy's request and offered him two drinks afterward. One was a golden bubbly drink: The Champagne of happiness. And the other was a strange serum and it was called the drink of suffering. 

The boy took both drinks from the elder, though he was perplexed by why the elderly gave him the serum of suffering as a cure for what made him suffer. So he decided not to take it. He drank the Champagne of happiness every day instead and expected to be free from the parasites. 

But after some time, it became clear that he wasn't being cured. Furthermore, The parasites duplicated rapidly. So he had no choice but to stop drinking the champagne and start to take the serum of suffering every morning. The drink was strong, highly viscose, and bitter. Despite all of that he took it out of his desire to be healed. Nevertheless, the boy kept being attacked by the parasites. 

After some time the boy got frustrated. So he went to the elder once more. The boy said to the elder, "I don't understand why you gave me two meaningless drinks that couldn't cure me." The elder sighed and advised the boy, "My Son, My Son I gave you two drinks because one is nothing without the other. Next time, take a little bit of both at once.

Photo Credit : Havilah Moges