Once upon a time, there was a lonely middle-aged man named Tony. He’d had several brief relationships; but for reasons unknown to him, they always ended abruptly. The women knew, however; there was an aura about him which they found very unappealing. At one point, Tony’s loneliness became so severe that he decided to purchase a parrot for company. Off he trudged to a local pet store. When he returned home with the parrot, which he named Billy Boy, he hung the birdcage on its stand in front of the television. He reasoned that Billy Boy would, thus, have something to watch while it was locked up in its cage.
None of Tony’s neighbours knew what he actually did for a living. To one, he had claimed to be a rocket scientist; to another, a health professor; and yet another, a political leader. All they knew for certain was that Tony was gone…all day long.
One day, after leaving the T.V. attuned to a non-stop business news program, he returned home and was pleasantly surprised to hear Billy Boy talking. He raced to be at his side.
“The DOW is down, the DOW is down!” squawked Billy Boy, as it shuffled side to side on its perch.
Tony was so impressed that he rewarded Billy Boy with some brown rice, his favourite food.
The next week, Tony returned home and was overjoyed when he heard Billy Boy had learned some more new words.
“The market’s going to crash! The market’s going to crash!” cawed Billy Boy.
Again, Tony rewarded Billy Boy with some more food. This time, he gave Billy Boy steamed vegetables, which he gobbled up.
The following week, Tony returned home; and before he had removed his coat, he heard Billy Boy sing, “Bitcoin’s a buy! Bitcoin’s a buy!”
With tears of joy, Tony approached Billy Boy and embraced its cage. How he loved his little bird, the partner for which he had longed.
***
If persons had heard Billy Boy spew its news about business, they might have assumed that Billy Boy was quite bright–perhaps even a business genius, trapped inside the body of a parrot. We of course, know better; for we realize that Billy Boy was just parroting what it had been programmed to repeat. There was no thinking involved.
Dare to dream (and care for one another).
With heartfelt regards,
Art
Copyright © – 2022 – R. Arthur Russell
P.S. Please share this article if you enjoyed it. If you’d like to view my latest book (This Taste of Flesh and Bones–released September 8, 2020), press here. My YouTube videos may be found through this link. May the content of either or both help you along your spiritual journey. 🙏🧡
Think2wice 