Many years ago in a village in the land of Banu there lived a boy called Garner. Garner enjoyed his youth with abandonment for he did not encounter any limitations. He had siblings at home and peers in the neighborhood with whom to explore and play. His parents were patient and willing to support his inclinations. Those older or those skilled taught either what one was required or desired to learn. The lessons did not have a specific schedule or venue but could take place when both parties were available and willing. This was also dependent on the seasons, events, and activities taking place at any given time. What caught his attention the most was when fruits were in season. Regardless of where in the neighborhood the fruits were, everybody had access to the fruits once ripe. One could pick what they could eat in one sitting. It made for quite a celebratory environment as everyone participated in this season of abundance. Nothing was stored as the different fruit trees tend to bear fruit at diverse times in the year. There was always something available depending on which fruit was in season. After all, this is how it has always been and it has worked wonderfully.
Fast forward and Garner left the village to go study in the modern world. He discovered a completely different world where everything is not only scarce but also has a clear structure and cost attached to its acquisition. Due to the increase in population and scarcity of things his life got harder and harsher. He felt forced to adopt a way of coping that was unlike what he had been brought up with. He had never hoarded anything, denied others access, or jumped queues to get ahead, but quickly adopted this to survive. He felt himself becoming inhuman in his outlook, and death began inside his heart. He was no longer doing what he desired but what he needed to do to survive. It was not long before he could no longer live like this, and he decided to leave the modern world and return home.
He was shocked when he got home to find people had already adopted the modern way of life. He could not imagine everything now required money to acquire including fruits. This burnt him to the core. If fruits have to be bought in the village it is as good as ushering in not only emotional/spiritual death but also physical death. There were a few that were thriving in this new way of life while others were now labeled as lazy. Certain terms that he had heard for the first time in the modern world were now in use here. Terms like lacking initiative, being selfish, greedy, and so on were now in use. Village life was communal so one was always encouraged to participate and it was always fun to do so. The songs and dances that accompanied the activities were always worth looking forward to. The food was eaten communally and eating alone was unheard of. One could eat as much as they could for there was always more than enough. The one who ate more was seen to be the one that valued food more and this was a sign of good understanding that survival favored the well-fed fellow. He realized due to scarcity people were labeled negatively if they could not access resources on their own or if they were seen to misuse them. Terms like lazy, greedy, mean, fat, and so on became common words used to guide people to behave a certain way. People were beginning to carry guilt and shame for doing something that was ok not too long ago. Imagine adopting a toxic way of thinking that no one can help to cope with if need be. Garner was in a dilemma. How does one solve such a pervasive situation?
That is the question I pose to the reader of this.
It is time 