We had a redistribution of wealth here yesterday. No, this is not a political discussion, but it is a funny little illustration of how early human nature manifests itself. Let me explain.
It all began when I started handing out the gold. Pooh Bear was very excited that he was a recipient of the distribution. He was happy until he noticed that his pile of gold was smaller than mine. That was when the trouble began. Poor Bear informed me that he saw a problem with the size of our piles. He was polite but insistent. I did not relent because, you see, we were talking about those golden sticks of goodness. Yes, I am talking about French Fries! [Editorial note: He was recently introduced to fries with ketchup and that took the goodness up to a completely different level]
I carefully explained that I was bigger and needed a bigger pile. He was not buying it. The piles of fries were all that mattered and they were different. Need had nothing to do with it. My explanation fell on deaf ears and then the grasping began. Pooh Bear decided if I was not going to help, he was going to solve the problem for himself. He promptly hopped up on his knees and grabbed a fistful of fries to add to his pile. This was getting to be very entertaining so I ran with it. I decided to make the piles even and see what would happen.
As you guessed, there was much rejoicing in the land as the wealth was now equitably distributed. Then the eating began in earnest. My pile quickly diminished and once again we had a have, and a have not. However, the roles were now reversed. I pointed this out to Pooh Bear, a normally generous young fellow to see what he would do. He smiled said, “All done,” and gave me the sign for all done. It is funny how in these circumstances it looked suspiciously like “Talk to the hand.” I had a laugh. I was not going to a beneficiary of another redistribution. Since I spent my gold, I was all done. He continued to happily munch for a while, keeping a wary eye on me to make sure I was not going to resort to his solution. The lad was definitely catching on. Clearly he has older siblings.
I went back to my day and came back a few minutes later to check on him. He was all done too. The really funny thing is that he never even finished his pile of fries.
It is funny how we can absolutely need something when someone else has it, and then find we really didn’t need it at all. It was a good lesson for both of us. I clearly didn’t need as much as I initially thought, and in the end, neither did he. Even after the good natured conflict, we both had more than we needed. That is the nugget in all of this. I hope I remember our little lunch for a long time. It was a timely lesson this close to Christmas.
Seven on Earth 