There is a story about a wealthy farmer who was once offered
all the land he could walk on in a day, provided he came back by sundown to the
point where he started. To get a new start, early the next morning the farmer
started covering ground quickly because he wanted to get as much land as he
could. Even though he was tired, he kept going all afternoon because he didn't
want to miss this once in a lifetime opportunity to gain more wealth.
Late in the afternoon he realized the condition he had to
fulfill to get the land was to get back to the starting point by sundown. His
greed had gotten him far enough. He started his return journey, keeping an eye
on how close he was to sundown. The closer it got to sundown, the faster he
ran. He was exhausted, out of breath and pushed himself beyond the point of
endurance. He collapsed upon reaching the starting point and died. He did make
it before sundown. He was buried and all the land he needed was a small plot.
There is a lot of truth in this story and a lesson to be
learned. Whether the farmer was wealthy or not, any greedy person would have
ended the same way.
