A Legend Of Wealth
(Part One)
by Bob Mandel
Once there was a Sleeping Giant. He slept in a high mountain valley, just over the hill from a small, quiet village. The villagers knew of this huge Being. Often, they would hear Him roll over in His endless sleep - causing buildings to shake and windows to shatter - or roar if He had a bad dream, sending a terrible shudder down their spines.
But this was a village of little people, and few of them had the magnitude or fortitude to venture near the Sleeping Giant. In fact, even though He slept just over the nearest hill, very few, if any, of the villagers, their parents, or their grandparents had ever seen the Great Sleeping One.
As usual in stories such as this, there were many legends about the Sleeping Giant. Although no one knew for sure if any of them had actually seen the Giant, the elders of the village claimed they had in their youth, and they argued amongst themselves about whether He was a good giant who protected the village or a bad giant who, when awakened, would subjugate all the villagers. One elder "remembered" when the Giant first arrived. He said that the village was extremely wealthy at that time, unlike now, a time of great scarcity and struggle. "This was a village of the rich men only. Everyone had more gold than they could possibly use," the elder recalled. But then the Giant appeared.
He demanded that all the gold be gathered and placed in a cave over the hill. When this was done, the Giant said he was tired and would take a nap, and no one should awaken Him if they valued their gold or their lives.
The Town Debates
Another elder begged to disagree. Every day in the town square cafe, these two elders would debate the village past while other villagers looked on, some with their own variations of these legends. According to this second elder, the first elder's memory was totally unreliable. The truth was, yes, the village was once extremely wealthy and, yes, the villagers stored their gold in a cave over the hill. Then one day a kind Giant appeared and said that He could teach them how to be Giants, too. For a while the lessons were successful, and some of the little villagers grew bigger. Then, the ones that remained little or could not learn their lessons became jealous, and the villagers began to fight among themselves as never before.
Finally, after a big villager murdered a little Villager, the kind Giant shouted, "STOP!" so loud that all the villagers heard a ringing in their ears for some time to come. Suddenly, all the villagers who had grown big were little again. Then the kind Giant announced that He was going to sleep in the next valley beside the cave and would not wake up and teach them until they stopped fighting and prayed for forgiveness. He said that if anyone tried to wake Him before there was peace in the village, He would leave and never return.
The Giant went to sleep. The villagers didn't know what to do: they loved the Giant and wanted to learn His lessons. They didn't want Him to leave yet they couldn't stop fighting amongst themselves. The more they fought, the more frightened they grew. Their fear gave birth to the idea that the Sleeping Giant had stolen their gold and there was no way to retrieve it from the cave where He slept. There was a third elder who laughed and said there was no Sleeping Giant at all. He claimed that the villagers were victims of a collective delusion. But nobody seemed interested in this point of view.
Rescued by Children
These tales kindled the curiosity and aroused the vivid imagination of the children. They yearned to see the Sleeping Giant but were strictly forbidden to do so by their parents. Hard times had gripped the small village. Life had become a matter of struggle, endurance, poverty, and either outbursts of conflict or silent misery. The more the children observed their parents' hardship, the more they became determined to do something. And that something' took the shape of the Sleeping Giant. One day after school, the children disappeared into the mountain valley where the Sleeping Giant slept. As they approached the Great One, they debated among themselves what action, if any, to take. One boy urged the group to turn back, reminding his friends of the legend of the Sleeping Giant's enormous might and meanness. A small girl said no, they should awaken the mighty Giant, arguing that perhaps He would deliver their parents from the plight of poverty, struggle, and unhappiness. Most of the children felt trapped in the middle, fear and worry shaking their knees, awe and wonder tickling their fancies. The children approached and beheld the Sleeping Giant. He was far bigger than they had ever imagined. It took all the children of the village, nearly one hundred of them, to surround the Giant's great body. The children instinctively held hands and stood in silence, not knowing what to do next.
Back in the village, the parents had noticed that their children had vanished. Although they suspected the worst, they were still too frightened to go after them. They gathered in their place of prayer and asked God to return their offspring safely and speedily. One by one the villagers fell to their knees, weeping from the depth of their littleness hoping that their children might be delivered without harm. And yet, despite their misery, scarcity, struggle, and unhappiness, not one of these little people dared to venture forth from the security of the little village.
The children stood near the Sleeping Giant, paralyzed by their fear and the fear of their parents. Nevertheless, one brave girl poked the huge Sleeping One with a stick, and soon all the other children joined in. The children then recited in unison:
Wake up Giant,Wake up Giant
Wake up from your endless dream.
Open your eyes, Awaken and rise.
And please, don't be mean.
Still the Giant slept.
The children proceeded to climb upon the Sleeping Giant's huge sprawled-out body. Despite their trepidation, they lunged forward, as if propelled by a force even greater than the Giant Himself Finally, the Great One stirred under the pressure of this mighty collective innocence. The children took a huge deep breath and bellowed in unison from the fullness of their little lungs, "WE DEMAND YOUR GREAT AWAKENING!"
The Giant Awakens
The mountains roared. The hills rolled, and the valley of the Sleeping Giant heaved back and forth in all its majesty. Back in the village, buildings shook and windows shattered. It seemed as if a giant earthquake had struck, like the end of the world was near, and all the little villagers scurried like squirrels for safety, frightened for their lives and the lives of their lost children.
As the Giant sat up, the children moved off His body but did not run away. The Giant gently rubbed His eyes. He yawned a yawn that echoed throughout the hills. Then He looked at all the children and the biggest smile in the world spread across His huge face. Quietly He said to them, "I am yours. You are mine." He stretched out His huge arms in love. His fingers unfurling tender tentacles.
The awakened Giant took a giant inhale and slowly exhaled. His breath creating a gentle, loving wind swirl which lifted the children and twisted them in circles of sweet breeze - whirlwinds of gentle love. As they turned, they grew, as they grew, they turned, spinning from littleness into magnitude in a few, short seconds. When the Giant let them drop, they were no longer little children. They were giants themselves, His very equal in size, shape, and strength.
The children were astounded by their transformation. The Sleeping Giant arose and embraced the giant children one by one. Then He took them into the secret cave where the gold had been hidden for so many years. The children entered the darkness of the cave; but when they focused their eyes, they beheld the brilliant, blinding light. Gold, diamonds, emeralds, sapphires a Technicolor treasure chest of infinite abundance.
Back At The Village
Meanwhile, the villagers gathered in the town square. They sensed that a great change had occurred, but no one could express it. Suddenly, in an instant, they realized that love had replaced the fear in their hearts. In this love, was joy and peace and faith in the future. No worries, they thought simultaneously. They were tempted to discuss and debate the change that had occurred, but instead they all began to smile, giggle, then guffaw.
Their laughter was abruptly interrupted by a loud thumping noise marching towards them from the hills. They looked at the crest of the hill and saw an army of giants standing in unison. The children gazed at their little village and their shocked little parents. It seemed to them like a tiny town of ants.
They inhaled, as the Sleeping Giant had taught them, and gently breathed a swirling breeze down towards the village. Their parents were swept into the air, as they had been before, magical tornadoes twisting and turning from littleness to magnitude in a few, short, windy seconds. When the parents looked up again, they recognized their children and ran towards them in joy and tears to embrace their saviors. (Continued )
Purchase the book
"Wake Up To
Wealth"
by
Bob Mandel
About The Author
Bob
Mandel has been a pioneer of self-improvement for over 20 years and is
co-owner of Loving Relationship Training International and International
Seminars Leadership Programs, Inc. He is the author of: Heart
Over Heels (50 ways not to leave your lover), and Wake
Up To Wealth. Bob can be reached through: ISLP, 21 Sabbaday
Lane, Washington, CT 06793, USA. Visit his website for info on seminars
and more: http://www.bobmandel.com
