There once were two villages, one in a valley and one on a plateau. Those who lived in the valley called themselves “people of the stone” for they made their homes and fences and furniture out of stone that they harvested from a nearby quarry. They admired the qualities of the stone, which glimmered in the sunlight and absorbed the heat of the sun.
Those who lived on the plateau called themselves “people of the wind” for they made their homes and fences and furniture out of the nearby trees and plants in the forest. They admired the pliability of the trees and plants, which enabled them to create structures of all shapes and sizes that swayed and danced in the wind that regularly swept across the plateau.
A leader rose among the first village who proclaimed that the stone glimmered and was warmed because it was a gift from God and that this showed that the “people of the stone” were God’s favored people. The people rejoiced and—to celebrate their special place as God’s favored people—built a temple out of the best and most beautiful stone. They also built a gorgeous palace for the leader in appreciation of his wisdom.
On the plateau, several villagers noticed that their homes and fences and furniture were beginning to fray and were no longer as sturdy. A group of leaders got together to figure out what to do. They invited all of the villagers into a circle and asked each person to share their ideas. All ideas were listened to, no matter how strange or impractical. One villager suggested setting fire to the dwellings and rebuilding the village from the ground up. Another villager suggested moving to a new plateau and starting over. Yet another villager suggested moving to the valley and joining the people of stone.
Then the youngest of the grown villagers made a suggestion in a timid voice. They suggested that they disassemble their homes, keep the wood that was still good and to add new wood and plants to build new houses. The people were a little hesitant at first, but they decided that was the best idea and all agreed to give it a try. They disassembled their homes, gathered new materials and looked at what they had to work with. Using what they had learned living in the old structures (what they liked and what they didn’t), the villagers bounced ideas off one another and they came up with new kinds of structures and worked together to assemble them. Their homes were sturdier and more comfortable, and the village was better than before.
After a longer period of time, the people of the stone noticed that the mortar between the stones was eroding and the stones were starting to shift. They asked their leader what to do. This leader hadn’t really thought about the problem, and didn’t know much about building with stone since the structures were built generations before. They didn’t really want to admit what they didn’t know, since they—after all—were the leader and didn’t want to lose their status as leader. After some thought, the leader declared that, since the stones were gifts for God’s favored people, they should not alter the stones in any way.
The people of the stone trusted their leader, who seemed so wise. And they were happy that they didn’t need to worry about what to do themselves. So they continued to live in the village without disturbing the stones. If one of the houses fell, the displaced family would just move into a house that was still standing and share it with another family. Over time, there were no more houses left standing and the surrounding forest enveloped the stones.