Three Bears: A Parable

Three Bears
Keller, TX 

Once upon a time in a land near Dallas, TX, there were three bears.  These bears had a happy life playing and hoarding lots of berries and filling their caves with lots of stuff.  Their bellies were full, they were content.  All three, best of friends, until one day something happened to forever change the bears.

An unusual winter storm happened to fall on Dallas.  First came the ice and then the snow, the bears who had vowed to be friends just weeks and months ago, separated.  Each worried about their own survival forgetting that they had flourished working together.  How were they going to eat?  Being male bears, instead of working together, they headed out on their own way each trying to find what they could no longer find by caring for each other;  each forgot about the other and only looked out for himself.

The storm was worse then they had expected and soon the bears fell into deep despair.  Each was now alone and no one cared.  "How am I going to eat"?  Each thought out loud to himself.  "My cave is filled with fine twigs but there's no one who one cares for me. I have left my other companions and my hunting skills were better when we were together."  Although they could see each other from a distance and hear the painful grunts stemming from weeks of hunger.  None bothered to heed the other's hunger pangs, but their caves were filled with nice twigs.

One of the bears was wiser than the rest.  He paused and thought about the rest.  "Oh my, we were never hungry when we hunted together and cared for each other.   I need to find my friends and help them out.  I believe if I don't we may all starve separately.  Our three pair of eyes certainly together again find more food and see more possibilities.  Together we can sleep in one cave and keep ourselves warm with our body heat."

So the lone bear set out on his journey to find his companions.  One by one, he found them famished and lonely.  They banded together again these bears and found more berries then they could have or would have by working together again.  Each reminisced about the lesson learned.  If we do not learn to bear each others burdens and choose to look away,  life becomes unbearable.

And the three bears lived happily ever after and never parted company ever again.