Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

I actually heard this story from the anime, Fruits Basket, but I'm sure the copyright owners and such won't prosecute me for trying to inject some happiness into whoever reads this journal and their lives. So, yeah, please don't sue or call me a rip-off artist or anything like that. I'm not making profit, in money or gold, by telling the story here. Besides, I think it'd be a refreshing change from the dribble that I write here. So, in conclusion, I claim no rights or copyrights of any such over the following story.

Imagine the world as it is. Many millions of different people, each and every one of them unique. Like a riceball. No matter how much a person tells you that a riceball is just a riceball, you can't help but notice that, like people, there are some things that make each one unique. The way they are made, by hand or machine, the grains of rice, how each grain is molded in, it's all different. And then you have your flavoured ones. All different kinds of fruits and spices and sauces and stuff, all of it makes each one special and each one unique.

One day, a plain looking riceball was very sad. It was sad because it thought that he wasn't so special as the others. He couldn't see anything that was even remotely good about him. He was just a plain old riceball.

Then, he spotted another riceball, whom had a lot of other riceballs gathered around her. She was very popular, it seemed. And it was easy to see why. In her back, was the most delicious looking plum you ever did see. He envied her, though was more sad than angry.

"Wow, look at her. She has such a lovely plum on her back, I'll bet she feels wonderful. Not like me, just an ordinary riceball."

He was about to walk away, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned, and there she was. The first thing that went through his head was...Why would she even think about talking to someone as boring and plain as me? She seemed to read his mind, and answered him.

"Oh wow, you have such a lovely plum on your back! I'll bet you feel wonderful. Not like me, just an ordinary riceball"


The moral to this story is that, though we may not be able to see it, there are amazing good qualities that we have which we can't even recognize. And I can tell you also, it's far easier to see the good qualities in others than it is to see in yourself. Like the plum on the back of the riceball.

I do hope that this little story has enlightened someone's day. If it has, then that's good. If it hasn't, then I'm sorry, I didn't know you didn't like plums! ><