Once upon a time, there was the Ant who worked all day under the hot summer sun, and the grasshopper who played.
But this is not the Story that I know of… where the Ant toils and the Grasshopper wastes his life in Play. No. That is not how I ever understood the Story of The Ant and The Grasshopper.
I know of a different version of this story and it goes like this:
One upon a place outside of time, there was the Ant who worked all day under the hot summer sun. And the Ant’s work was long and hard, and without joy or love. The grasshopper who was free of such work passed by one day and saw the suffering and the Ant. The grasshopper was moved with Love.
And so, instead of dancing, roaming, and frolicking about as the Grasshopper usually did, he stayed and played his violin and sang and danced for the Ant who worked.
And the Ant took great joy in the Grasshopper’s company and music. As the Ant worked alongside the Grasshopper’s merriment, the Ant felt his heart lighten. He felt his work ease. The Ant felt his mood lift. And so it was that the Summer passed for the Ant and for the Grasshopper.
Fall came and then Winter, and the work came to an end as the Ant ended his work and retreated for the snows. But the Grasshopper was not ready for the Winter for he had spent his summer easing the burden of the Ant. Without a word, but with a contented smile on his face for the joy he brought the Ant, the Grasshopper packed up his violin and prepared to move on without a plan, when a gentle hand touch his.
The Grasshopper looked up and there was the Ant inviting the Grasshopper into his home. The Grasshopper accepted and, so it was that the Ant and the Grasshopper stayed the Winter together; the Grasshopper continued to play and sing and dance for the Ant, to lift the Ant’s spirits as the Ant gave Food, Warmth, Safety, Friendship and Shelter to the Grasshopper.
Many see The Ant as a Worker and the Grasshopper who Plays. But I see a different Story. There are some people who Work like the Ant to bring Food and Shelter to others. And there are some who work to bring pleasure and joy to those who must Work in Turmoil.
Every time you listen to a book at work or in the car, every time you listen to the radio, or you find escape in your life through television, it is the Artists, the Grasshoppers who are there working hard to ease the lives of those who Work without Art. We all Work to Share what we create. But the Grasshoppers of the world, are really those who Nourish the Souls of others.
There is a third character in this story that many people never see. The Story Teller. They Story Teller who remains unnoticed and unseen, but who delivers the Story through Word. Who weaves the Story through Prose, and who bridges the gap of Understanding between Ant and Grasshopper.
There are many people in this world who are Ants, toiling away under the hot summer sun whose work is Hard on the Soul. And there are many people in this world who are Grasshoppers who work to ease, nourish, and soothe the Soul of the Ants. And there are many people in this world, good god, not many, who are Story Tellers who tell the true story of the Ant and the Grasshopper so that they may understood the actual message hidden within.
But there are Ants in this world who are meant to be Grasshoppers. And there are Grasshoppers in this world who are mean to be Ants. And there are Ants in this world who hide Story Tellers within. And there are many Ants who hate the Grasshopper though they are quick to seek their nourishment to ease their Soul.
Which one are you? Are you a Hybrid? Do you have a little or a lot of all three in you?
Know Your Primary Language
The Artist
Artists are the people who interpret and understand the world through Emotion, Intuition, and Feelings. They are Natural Creators who live and breathe on Self-Expression. They Connect the World through Song and Dance, Play and Beauty.
The Communicator
Communicators are the Cultivators of the World. They Bridge the gap between Minds. They are Healers-Teachers-Parents. The Voice, The Written Word, and Theater and Stage, Logic and Math is their world. They are the Storytellers.
The Scientist
These are the people who must understand How the World works. They are Pioneers of Reality, always pushing the boundaries of “what is accepted” and “What is real.” They are Explorers in uncharted lands.