The Palauan Parable of Natural Birth: A Story of Knowledge and Generosity
- Stories - People's Health Assembly - December 2000
2000 years before the world-wide web the Palauan knew of the potential of connecting people and knowledge thru a web.
The Palauan Parable of Natural Birth: A Story of Knowledge and Generosity
In the times of the misty past, spiders lived separate form man. Their lives were difficult as they themselves and their webs were blown about by the winds.
One day, a kind-hearted man noticed that the plight of a spider in a tree. He asked the spider to build his web in the safety of the porch of his house. The spider agreed.
Several days passed, the spider called over the man. As the man approached, he noticed the spider taking down and folding his web. The man asked “Are you leaving?” The spider answered, “No, I am just securing my web because a typhoon is coming.” So the man thanked the spider for the advance warning and secured his home.
The man’s wife was pregnant. It was the custom in those days to cut open the mother to deliver the baby because natural childbirth was unknown. Being kind-hearted, the man did not want his wife to suffer this fate.
One day it dawned on him that since the spider had knowledge much beyond others, perhaps the spider knew how to keep both the mother and child in good health. He asked the spider if he knew a better way. The spider answered, “As you have shared your home with me, I will share my knowledge with you. I will guide you through the better way when the time comes.”
On the day of the full moon, the wife went into labor. The man kicked out the midwives and brought in the spider. The people thought he was raving mad.
With the help of the spider, a bouncing baby boy was soon born, so was the knowledge of natural childbirth.
Please ponder this:
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Knowledge may come from the most unlikely sources.
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Shared knowledge betters the life of all participating in the sharing.
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Kind heartedness and generosity leads to wisdom, wisdom in turn nurtures greater and better knowledge.
ANCIENT PROVERB
Knowledge is the most powerful and valuable when fresh. It is like a hot rock, for if we choose to hide it by swallowing it, it will surely burn a hole through our stomach. However, if we choose to share it and pass it on, it will pass through many hands quickly, warming all those that share it.
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