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A nice little email I got from an old friend.

"Once upon a time there was a rich King who had four wives. He loved the
4th wife the most and adorned her with rich robes and treated her to the
finest of delicacies. He gave her nothing but the best.

He also loved the 3rd wife very much and was always showing her off to
neighboring kingdoms. However, he feared that one day she would leave him
for another.

He also loved his 2nd wife. She was his confidant and was always kind,
considerate and patient with him. Whenever the King faced a problem, He
could confide in her, and she would
help him get through the difficult times.

The King's 1st wife was a very loyal partner and had made great
contributions in maintaining his wealth and kingdom. However, he did not
love the first wife. Although she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice
of her!

One day, the King fell ill and he knew his time was short. He thought of
his luxurious life and wondered, "I now have four wives with me, But when I
die, I'll be all alone."

Thus, he asked the 4th wife, "I have loved you the most, endowed you with
the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying,
will you follow me and keep me company?"

"No way!"replied the 4th wife and she walked away without another word. Her
answer cut like a sharp knife right into his heart.

The sad King then asked the 3rd wife, "I have loved you all my life. Now
that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?"

"No!" replied the 3rd wife. "Life is too good! When you die, I'm going to
remarry!" His heart sank and turned cold.

He then asked the 2nd wife, "I have always turned to you for help and
you've always been there for me. When I die, will you follow me and keep me
company?"

"I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time!" replied the 2nd wife. "At the
very most, I can only walk with you to your grave." Her answer struck him
like a bolt of lightning, and the King was devastated.

Then a voice called out: "I'll go with you. I'll follow you no matter where
you go."

The King looked up, and there was his first wife. She was very skinny as
she suffered from malnutrition and neglect. Greatly grieved, the King said,
"I should have taken much better care of you when I had the chance!"

In truth, we all have the 4 wives in our lives:

Our 4th wife is our body. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in
making it look good, it will leave us when we die.

Our 3rd wife is our possessions, status, and wealth. When we die, it will
all go to others.

Our 2nd wife is our family and friends. No matter how much they have been
there for us, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave.

And our 1st wife is our Soul. Often neglected in pursuit of wealth, power,
and pleasures of the world. However, our Soul is the only thing that will
follow us wherever we go. Cultivate, strengthen, and cherish it now, for
it is the only part of us that will follow us to the throne of God and
continue with us throughout Eternity."

ohhh deep man ...like groovy

mmm very meaningful story

I don't believe in god, and I am unsure if we do indeed have a soul, let alone that it follows us, or perhaps IS us(our consciousness) and lives on for eternity.

Still, that's a powerful little story...it makes some excellent points. We far too commonly neglect our own personality and conscience in favor of whatever else.

we dont have a soul, but it could be said like this...


be a good person.


there.

I liked the story for the story
The moral was nice too, but the "soul" thing was alittle odd.
I am just saying that because what does it mean to take care of your soul? And what if you don't believe in an afterlife?
The 4-2 wives part was cool though, 1st was odd, but still nice.

that was a good story
made me cry a little

the soul thing though, like others say, is a little strange

Dude it's really just a metaphor, take what you can out of it. Just think about it. IF you don't believe in a soul, just think about you, your consciousness and personality. That thing that talks to you in yo dome.

+1 made sense to me