Two Women

Two women worked in a field - one was diligent and the other was known for taking frequent breaks. The diligent one was praised by everyone and gained a reputation with the farm owners and among the markets. But the other woman was known as inefficient in the market and had only a few friends.  By her hard work, the diligent woman raised her standard of living and became established. She moved into a bigger house in a quiet suburb and bought many fine things to enjoy. She bought a 55" television, for example, and she would fall asleep in front of it after a hearty balanced meal every evening. But she almost never was able to finish her program.

While at work the diligent woman was single-minded. She developed new ways to increase her production, and her eyes stayed fixed on the work of her hands unlike the other woman, who seemed distracted by the birds and the clouds which took the shapes of elephants and sailboats.  The distracted woman had to stand up frequently and stretch her back, and she would watch as the cars drove by or listen to some musician play who stopped as he walked by, and she would listen as travelers told stories about far away places. One traveler had come from a poor land and told stories about the thin children there.  "Here," she said, "here's a hundred dollars. Buy those children some food next time you go there."  "Idiot," shouted the other woman from across the field, not raising her eyes.  "You'll never see that money again, and neither will any hungry children!"

There were many days when the diligent woman was alone in the field. She was there working when the other woman arrived, and she stayed past dark working almost every day, because she had developed a system of lights that strapped to her forehead and shoulders, and it was as bright as day beneath her lamps. Meanwhile, her 401K grew large and she diversified her portfolio. She drove to work in a Lexus SUV and wore a breathable black exercise outfit with pink stripes down the side of the legs, and drank power shakes from a backpack with a tube that she gripped in her teeth.  The distracted woman wore the same clothes every day, and stopped work for breaks every couple of hours. She had a three-legged stool that she brought to work, and she would eat carrots and celery sticks on her stool and watch the migration patterns of the birds. When Daylight Saving Time was on, the diligent woman scoffed at her because she left while there was still three hours of sunlight left, but she replied that she just wanted a cup of tea and to watch the sunset with her baby. Not surprisingly, she had a hard time making ends meet, and her growing family made it more difficult with each new addition. And she was thin, even without going to a Pilates class, which the other woman attended at 5am before work.

One day in the field, she glanced up at the angle of the sun and saw it was time for a break. She opened her little food satchel and started fixing some saltines and cheese whiz.  "There's supposed to be a big storm coming through," she said to the other woman, loud enough to be heard across the field.  The diligent woman bustled more fervently as if to silently retort that the distracted woman had better worry about the financial storm that was going to overtake her soon. In the mid-afternoon, the distracted woman had another break and turned her face to the cool wind blowing from the east, and she ate her saltines and drank grape juice from a box. She saw clouds building in the northwest and instead of returning to work after her break, she sat and watched.  The clouds came closer and were a sick dark gray-blue. She noticed the birds had stopped singing, and wind was changing. As she picked up her stool and skittered away toward her bicycle, she shouted to the other woman, "Better get inside. A storm's comin'!"  But the diligent woman never raised her eyes. "Well, now I can work in a cool shade for a change. There is no storm, just a more pleasant work environment. Thank heaven for the clouds."

When the rain started, the diligent woman's attitude changed, "Oh, great. My cool breeze has turned into a real mess. It will pass through as it always does; and I will not let a little rain interfere with my goals." The rain grew stronger and tornadoes came and carried her away, and she never raised her eyes from her work. But the distracted woman trembled and pitied from the reinforced window of a dry storm cellar with other distracted sorts who had seen the storm coming.