Inspiration: The Stonecutter

One day at school, the teacher had the students practice their handwriting. Everyone pulled out their fancy mechanical pencils except for Alex who pulled out a wooden pencil. Alex noticed this and instantly grew jealous. He ended up not writing because he was embarrassed. The teacher noticed this and asked what was wrong. Alex explained himself and the teacher then stated, “there is no need to dwell on what type of pencil you have, at the end of the day both pencils deliver the same message.” As the teacher went back to her desk Alex looked at his paper. He increasingly grew tired the more he looked at the empty page until he eventually dozed off into a deep sleep. 

He dreamed of a stonecutter who was dissatisfied with himself and with his position in life.

One day the stonecutter passed a wealthy man’s house. Through the open gateway, he saw many fine possessions and important visitors. “How powerful that man must be!” thought the stonecutter. He became very envious and wished that he could be like that man.

To his great surprise, he suddenly became that man, enjoying more luxuries and power than he had ever imagined, but envied and detested by those less wealthy than himself. Soon a king passed by, transported in a limousine, accompanied by his assistant and escorted by private security. Everyone, no matter how wealthy, had to bow low before the procession. “How powerful that person is!” he thought. “I wish that I could be as famous as him!”

Then he became royalty himself, taken everywhere by limo, surrounded by security, and loved by the people all around. It was a hot summer day, so he became very uncomfortable in the back of his limo. He looked up at the sun. It shone proudly in the sky, unaffected by his presence. “How powerful the sun is!” he thought. “I wish that I could be the sun!”

Then he became the sun, shining fiercely down on everyone, scorching the fields, cursed by the farmers and laborers. But a huge black cloud moved between him and the Earth, so that his light could no longer shine on everything below. “How powerful that storm cloud is!” he thought. “I wish that I could be a cloud!”

Then he became the cloud, flooding houses and fields, disliked by everyone. But soon he found that he was being pushed away by some great force, and realized that it was the wind. “How powerful it is!” he thought. “I wish that I could be the wind!”

Then he became the wind, blowing tiles off the roofs of houses, uprooting trees, feared and hated by all below him. But after a while, he ran up against something that would not move, no matter how forcefully he blew against it – a huge, towering rock. “How powerful that rock is!” he thought. “I wish that I could be a rock!”

Then he became the rock, more powerful than anything else on earth. But as he stood there, he heard the sound of a hammer pounding a chisel into the hard surface, and felt himself being changed. “What could be more powerful than I, the rock?” he thought.

He looked down and saw far below him the figure of a stonecutter.”  

All of a sudden Alex snapped up from his desk to the realization that it was all a dream. He realized that the teacher was right and regardless of which pencil he had, he would still be able to write just as well as everyone else. As he was writing he started to notice the other kids packing up early and when he started to look around he saw that each and every kid was running out of lead. He chuckled as he thought back to his dream and realized that he needs to be grateful for what he has rather than envy what he doesn’t.