There is an old fable involving a swan and a crane that reads like this:
A beautiful swan alighted by the banks of the water in which a crane was wading about seeking snails. For a few moments, the crane viewed the swan in stupid wonder and then inquired:
“Where do you come from?”
“I come from heaven!” replied the swan.
“And where is heaven?” asked the crane.
“Heaven!” said the swan, “Heaven! Have you never heard of heaven?” And the beautiful bird went on to describe the grandeur of her home. She told of streets of gold, and the gates and walls made of precious stones, and of rivers, pure as crystal. In eloquent terms the swan sought to describe the hosts who live in the other world, but without arousing the slightest interest on the part of the crane.
Finally the crane asked: “Are there any snails there?”
“Snails!” repeated the swan; “No! Of course there are not.”
“Then,” said the crane, as it continued its search along the slimy banks of the pool, “you can have your heaven. I want snails!”
Too often, we live our lives as the crane. We choose to focus our attention on the temporal enjoyment of things that are less important: money, big houses, nice cars, fancy clothes, cutting-edge technology…
And in exchange, we have lost sight of the beautiful things that truly matter.
Lisa says
Thanks Joshua for your reminder of what is really important. When reading through the posts, I too, was surprised at how many other people viewed the crane/swan story different than intended. You said it best when you noted:
“my hope was to motivate others to seek out the most important, valuable, and lasting things possible. (i think that it is why the author chose to use heaven as the alternative – a universal symbol of true beauty and lasting value). it wasn’t about choosing grandeur over simplicity. it was about choosing the beautiful, invisible things of life over the temporal, material possessions that so many seek to own and base their life upon. it was about not living our life for anything less than the most important.
i have never sought out simplicity/minimalism as my ultimate destination. i have always seen it as a means to an end – as an opportunity to free up life to choose relationships and significance rather than “stuff.” ”
Seeking out minimalism without a larger vision, turns minimalism into a “thing.” Something someone is proud of and holds over the heads of others to prove they have a better vision/”thing.” True simplicity and the type of minimalism you are promoting is far beyond simply being able to count your things on one hand. You are engaging the world in the act of finding meaning (whatever that is for the individual.) Thanks for being out here for us to continue to read and learn from!
Jess@minimalistmum says
I definitely identify with the practical, lowly crane getting on with the necessities instead of the showy, flashy swan with his fancy home. Superior swans get right up my nose.
I found another interpretations of this – more religious and even more of a stretch to assign the crane the inferior position.
http://bible.org/illustration/swan-or-crane
alexa says
Well, I am delighted not to find myself the only one on the crane’s side! As someone who has no interest in gold or precious stones, but loves the river bank, I’d be with the crane. And as I value presence in my life, I prefer to put my energy into – and pay attention to – doing the next thing in front of me (however slimy the water!) rather than spend time in my head imagining some kind of future or other place which is, in someone else’s eyes, ‘better’. Obviously lots to take from this story, Joshua!
Kristi says
It seems to me that the description of heaven is not what is important. I think one could insert their ideas of heaven into the paragraph with the precious stones and rivers. It seems implied that in a place so luxurious food would be provided for you, or at the very least would be made available to you. The crane is rather short sighted. I think the term “can’t see past the end of your nose” is applicable to the crane. He (she) is not willing to explore anything other than the banks of his little pond.
joshua becker says
Thanks everybody.
This has been an incredibly thought-provoking conversation.
And I’ll take that anytime!
Meg says
My interpretation: evangelists are annoying, they think everyone should want what they want, and cannot see the value in another way of thinking and being!
Christine says
It’s funny, my interpretation was the same as Erin’s as well. To me, the crane just wanted the simplicities in life: food. The swan wanted the luxuries that the crane could clearly live without.
After reading Josh’s explanation I was able to see how his interpretation makes sense as well. Sometimes people have tunnel vision and only see one thing, not the bigger picture.
maryann says
If the swan lived a “real” heaven, there would be an abundance of snails for the crane to enjoy… Def: An eternal state of communion with God; everlasting bliss.
Maggie says
What an engaging debate! I can see both sides of the coin, but I think I prefer to go with Joshua’s interpretation in the end. As a relatively new minimalist, I’ve noticed that many minimalists get tied up in the constant elimination of things from their lives. That’s great, but for me, once I have eliminated the unnecessary, I want to fill up that space in my life with things that are meaningful and even exciting. Life was meant to be lived, and I definitely do not want to end up like a crane, eating snails in the mud (or watching tv and eating Cheetos…). Great discussion though, I enjoyed reading all the different reactions to the fable.
prufock says
I’m glad I’m not the only one who read this story with the alternate interpretation. Who needs streets of gold and walls made of precious stones? That’s vapidity, and seems counter to minimalism. I’d say too often we are like the swan.