The Parable of Taganga

I don't know if you can see the cartoon below well enough to enjoy it. It was in today's paper. I don't get the paper but the local grocery store gives one out for free with purchase, so when I get it I read more than I would if it was a daily happening.

Another article in the paper, by W. Gifford-Jones, talked about not letting the over abundance of stress dominate the new year. This little story, The Parable of Taganga, was a part of the article.

A U.S. investment advisor was visiting a small fishing village in Columbia called Taganga.  As he strolled along the pier, a fisherman appeared with his daily catch. The basket contained four tilapia.

When the American was told the fish had been caught quickly he said, 'So why didn't you catch more fish?' The fisherman replied, 'This is all I need to feed my family.'

So the American asked, 'How do you spend the rest of the day?' The Columbian answered, 'I have a siesta with my wife, play with my children, talk with friends, drink a little wine or sing with my amigos. It's a good life.'

The American then suggested, 'You could fish longer, sell the fish and with more money buy another boat and soon have your own fleet of ships. Eventually you cut out the middleman and sell straight to the distributor. You could become so successful you'd end up in New York City running your tilapia empire, have a public stock offering and become filthy rich.'

 

'How long would this take?' the fisherman asked.

'Maybe 25 years,' the American replied.

'But what would I do then?' the Columbian asked.

The investment advisor replied, "This is the best part. You could retire, move to this quaint fishing village. Then you could fish, enjoy siestas with your wife, play with your children, sip wine and sing with your amigos.'

Well, it makes you laugh, but don't we forget to just look at the big picture sometime?