Once, a long time ago, there was a people who lived in a
land that everyone called the Land of the Full.
In this land everyone carried a large cylinder, which was expected by
all, to always be full.
I guess you could say
they had great optimism, perhaps even faith in that way. They simply believed every person’s cylinder
in their land “should be, ought to be, and had a right to be full.” At least
that is how the Mayor of the Land of the Full put it each year in his annual
address. Full cylinders were not just a
matter of personal importance but a matter of civic duty and pride.
That is why the Cylinder monitors played such an important
role in the town. The Cylinder monitors did
just what their title said, they monitored everyone’s cylinders. You see, once your cylinder was full you
would take your fullness to the Cylinder Monitor who would enter you in the town
data base as now being full. At that
moment you would be given a cylinder cover and the Cylinder Monitors would say,
“I here by declare your cylinder to be full.
From this time forth your cylinder must always remain covered as that is
the only way to keep said cylinder full.”
Round and round the days and years went like the circle of
their cylinders until one day a stranger walked into town. It was no surprise to see visitors in the Land
of the Full because outsiders often came with their empty cylinders hoping to
find the secret to being full. But this
stranger was different. He did not come with an empty cylinder. His cylinder was full. It was not only full, it was uncovered. This Stranger quickly became the talk of the
town. The mayor learned that the
Stranger was drawing a crowd. Like any good politician, the Mayor was never one
to miss the chance to make a public appearance.
When the Mayor met the stranger, he found himself without
words for a moment, which was not at all like him. He was not accustomed to seeing people with
full cylinders walking around with them right out in the open. Collecting himself, he asked the Stranger to
join him for lunch. As the Mayor and the
Stranger sat in the out door seating of the fullest of full restaurants in
town, the Mayor said, “I admire your fullness, but why do you not cover your
cylinder? After all, the only way to stay full is to keep it covered.”
The Stranger smiled and said, “When you are truly full, you
have nothing to hide.”
Before the Mayor could respond, the Stranger stood up. His eyes were locked on something across the
street. The Mayor tried to ask him where
he was going, but all of the Stranger’s attention was now elsewhere. The Mayor followed the Stranger across the street
to an alley side door where people who were full just did not go, but the
Stranger would not be stopped until he reached the object of his gaze. It was a man.
Well, what was left of a man. He
was unshaven, dirty, wreaked with alcohol and sitting beside him was an empty,
bone dry cylinder.
“What is your name?”
The Stranger asked.
“My name is Pete, but people call me Rocky…” he paused…”they
use to call me Rocky.”
“Why don’t they still?” asked the Stranger.
“Because I use to be full.
I use to be somebody. In high school and college I was a star. The best at everything. But then, the real world was different. My
best didn’t seem to be enough. No matter
how hard I tried it seemed my cylinder kept loosing its fullness. Then my son got sick. He died.
My wife left. And I have nothing
left. You can see it…my cylinder is empty.”
The mayor interrupted, “That’s because people like you want
to wallow in your loss rather than stand up and be full again.”
The Stranger and Rocky both seemed to ignore the Mayor who
he was not exactly used to or pleased with that.
The Stranger said, “Do you want to be full again, Rocky?”
Rocky, took offense. “Listen;
Stranger, just go on your way. I know I am empty; I don’t need you or the Mayor
or anybody else making me feel like I have even less.”
The Stranger was undeterred, “Do you want to be full?”
“Well, of course, I want to be full, but I can’t be. Nothing
will bring back what I have lost,” said Rocky.
Again, the Stranger asked, “Do you want to be full?”
Finally, Rocky said nothing.
He couldn’t talk. The big, gruff
guy began to cry. All he could do to
answer was shake his head yes.
The Stranger said, “Give me your cylinder.”
Rocky shook as he handed over his empty cylinder to the
Stranger. And then Rocky saw that Stranger
do what he had never seen anyone do in his life. The Stranger poured his full cylinder into
Rocky’s empty one. The more the Stranger poured out his cylinder the fuller Rocky’s
became and when Rocky’s was full, the Stranger’s was still full as well.
The mayor did not see this for he had long since left to
tell the Cylinder Monitors, but Rocky, full of joy and hope asked, “How did you
do that?”
The Stranger smiled and said, “Come follow me and I will
show you. You see, Rocky, the only way
to be full is to be poured out. For
whoever tries to save what’s in their cylinder will come up empty, but those
who pour out all they have will always be full.
What does it gain a person to have a full cylinder and yet forfeit his
or her very soul?” From that day on
Rocky followed the Stranger everywhere.
One day, the Stranger and Rocky heard angry words, doors
slam and tires peal. They heard the cry
of a woman and the panicked scream of a child.
Even empty people with empty cylinders in that empty neighborhood closed
their doors and turned their heads, but not the Stranger. He asked Rocky if he
knew her.
Rocky said, “Who doesn’t know her? That is Mary. There
certainly isn’t a man in town who doesn’t know her; even some of the fullest
men in town know her all too well, if you know what I mean.”
The Stranger stopped listening and Rocky got the feeling
that some how he had crossed a line that the Stranger did not appreciate. The Stranger walked up to Mary and her little
girl with his full cylinder sparkling in the sun. The child was the first to look up. “Wow!
Said the child. The Stranger ran
his fingers through the little girls pig tales.
“Do you want some?” he asked?
“Really? Yes, please,” She said reaching for her empty cylinder until her
Mother jerked her hand back. The
Stranger was gentle but firm, “Don’t stop this child from receiving what I have
to give. If we adults don’t become more
like her, we’ll all end up empty in the end.”
The mother did not know exactly why but she wanted to trust
the stranger. She let her child give him
the empty cylinder. The Stranger poured
his fullness into her emptiness and once again his cylinder stayed full.
“Did you see that mommy?
He filled my cylinder up and his is still full!” The girl needed no explanation; she danced
around the porch in her fullness.
So, the mother asked for her, “How did you do that?”
The Stranger said, “The only way to be full is to be poured
out, Mary. For whoever tries to save
what’s in their cylinder will come up empty, but those who pour out all they
have will always be full. What does it
gain a person to have a full cylinder and yet forfeit his or her very
soul?”
“Its true”, Rocky said, “he did it for me too.” “Let him have your cylinder.”
“I don’t deserve it.,” Mary said, “I’m not a good
person. If you knew all that I’ve
done…”
The Stranger gently lifted Mary’s chin so her eyes looked
into his, “I know it all, Mary. I know
all you have done wrong as a woman and I know all that was wrong that was done
to you way back when you use to wear pig tales.”
She was trembling now.
For one thing she was afraid…she always felt afraid around men, but she
also hoped…she hoped that this man was different. She thought to herself, “Does he want me for
what he can take from me?”
“No,” the Stranger
said, answering her silent thoughts, “I want you for what I can pour into you.”
And then he took her
empty cylinder and began to pour from his fullness filling her emptiness, yet
his cylinder still full.
The Stranger smiled and said, “Come follow me, Mary, and I
will show you that the only way to be full is to be poured out.” From that day
on Mary and her daughter followed the Stranger everywhere.
And every where he went the Stranger did the same
thing! He poured out his fullness into emptiness
and he stayed full. People all over town
who had never known what it was like to be full were now overflowing! Laughter replaced crying, joy replaced anger,
and hope replaced fear. It was amazing!
But then in to the joy came a heart breaking scream. “NOOOOOOO”, came the cry of a Mother and Father. The Stranger and his followers went straight
to the place of the pain. Beside the
parents lay their dead teenage son. It
was too much for Rocky. He turned to
walk out full of his own memories of the loss of his child. But the Stranger gripped Rocky’s arm. He said, “They need what you have, Rocky”
“I can’t help them, only you can,” Rocky said.
But the Stranger said, “I can‘t help them, if you
won’t.”
Rocky stood still for what seemed like an eternity. Then without a word, he picked up his full
cylinder, walked right up to the young man’s corpse, grabbed the empty cylinder
and poured his fullness into the dead boy’s emptiness and suddenly the one that
was dead gasped for air. The parents
were shocked and then overwhelmed with relief.
And someone asked, “Rocky, how is your cylinder still full?”
He just smiled and said, “Come follow my Friend and he will
show you what he has shown me: the only way to be full is to be poured
out. For whoever tries to save what’s in
their cylinder will come up empty, but those who pour out all they have will
always be full. What does it gain a
person to have a full cylinder and yet forfeit his or her very soul?” The Father
said, tomorrow, we follow, tonight we celebrate!
During the celebration there was a quiet knock on the
door. The Stranger, that many now called
Friend, answered the door. It was one of
the Cylinder Monitors. The Stranger went
out and the Cylinder Monitor shut the door. He talked quietly and quickly as if
he were afraid of being caught. “I am Nick, I believe what you say is true. I can prove it.”
He uncovered his cylinder.
The Stranger covered his nose.
There was the stench of death in Nick’s cylinder. The water in his
cylinder did not sparkle, it was black and stagnate. And most of all, it was not full.
“This is why they tell us to keep our cylinder’s covered so
neither we nor anyone else will see how empty we really are,” explained Nick. “So, tell me, teacher, how can I be full
again?”
The Stranger told Nick what he told everyone else, “The only
way to be full is to be poured out.”
But, at least for now, Nick was too afraid of loosing what
he had to risk having all that the Stranger promised. But before he left, he warned the stranger
that that mayor of the other Cylinder monitors were plotting against him. To
which the Stranger said, “I know.”
Well, the story from here becomes unpleasant to say the
least, but by the end of business on Friday, they had managed to unfairly and
cruelly drain every last drop of the Stranger’s cylinder. He had nothing left to give. And when that was not enough for them, they
took his very life. Its always shocking
and yet sadly expected when we see just how far people will go to keep what
they have.
Rocky and the other followers were sacred and felt empty all
over again. But Mary couldn’t take it any more.
She stood up and said, “I refuse not to show my final respect to the man
who filled us all up.” She stormed off
to the cemetery where the Stranger’s empty cylinder was displayed as an example
to all. She fell on her knees and
sobbed. Her tears began to fill the
Strangers now cold, empty cylinder. Then,
she heard a familiar voice, “Mary, why do you weep? Have I not told you, the only way to be full
is to be poured out. For whoever tries
to save what’s in their cylinder will come up empty, but those who pour out all
they have will always be full. What does
it gain a person to have a full cylinder and yet forfeit his or her very soul?”
Mary ran and told the others and they believed.
We know they believed because they lived the rest of their lives pouring
their fullness it into the emptiness of others.
Many of them even gave their very lives to show that those who are full
are those who are poured out.
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