The bucket of coins....or the bucket of bullets

Hi folks!

I was just talking to my psychotherapist yesterday and, well, we got to talking, which is pretty much what you do when you are with a psychopath....er, I mean psychologist.

Together, we boiled all my problems down a very simple analogy:

Let's say you go out one fine morning with a bucket of all the small change that has been accumulating in your pockets, on your dresser, in your washing machine....wherever....

The idea is to carry this bucket to the bank, and put into one of those coin-sorter machines and get the amount credited to your bank account.

But on this particular fine morning, the first person you meet is a beggar asking for a few bucks to get something to eat.

The next person you meet is the widow next door who has three kids and is not sure she can afford shoes for the new school year.

Then you meet the priest, who runs the local food pantry and is out of spaghetti noodles and rice.

Finally, rounding the corner to the street where the bank is located, you spot a young boy feeding a cat from his hand, but he hasn't got enough for the other cats that are in the neighborhood.

At the bank, you proudly approach the teller window to get your deposit done.

"Sir, I am afraid there is no money in this bucket."

Time to get a balance transfer, and stop carrying buckets of coins when you go out on fine mornings.


There is another, similar, story, about a bucket of bullets.

In some places in the world, when you leave home in the fine morning, you are not carrying a laptop, a peanut-butter sandwich, and a bucket of coins. You are carrying a scrap of bread, an AK-47, and a bucket of bullets.

When you see the beggar outside your place, you only spend one bullet.

When you meet the widow, you need 4 bullets.

The priest is old, so a rifle-butt to the head will suffice.....no need to spend a bullet.

The kid and the cats can be quickly dispatched with a big spray of automatic.

When you finally get to the bank, with your bucket of bullets, you realize it is still half-full. So why not pop in another mag and see if anyone left a bag of coins this fine morning.

Call me wrong, but I'd rather have the empty bucket of coins than the half-full bucket of bullets, even if I have to suffer a bit in the process.

Didn't Jesus ask us to renounce all worldly things and seek solace with him?

My shrink thinks that I need to focus more on me and not others, and keep some coins in the bucket, so that when I get to the bank I have something to offer.

But then again, it's just going to be handed over to a half-blind, half-deaf, illiterate, who, on this fine morning, is more concerned with the crappy manicure she got yesterday, and will probably misplace half the money and mistake the account number.

I'd rather give it to the widow. Well, come to think of it, if the widow has a bank account number that is close to mine, she might benefit after all.......

Have a fine morning.

Love and Peace to All!