A young man went away from home to search something. He was seeking the scarcest commodity in the world. The thing which is the hardest to find. He had spoken to many persons, and no one could tell him exactly why it was so scarce.

Many people told him it was gold or something similar. He saw plenty of gold so scarce was not the problem. He had already been on this search for 20 years by now. He was getting tired of it. Having travelled to almost anywhere in the known world, he tried the last place he hadn't been to during his search.

He spoke to his father, who was now getting quite old. He asked him what he thought was the scarcest commodity in the world. His father thought for a very long time, and was silent for minutes. He patted his son on the shoulder and asked him to walk with him. They went into the forrest.

His father pointed him to a very old tree. He said wisdom comes with age. You can't buy wisdom for any price. That's one of the scarcest. He walked on.

After a short time he pointed towards an old tree which had fallen during a storm. He said that wisdom is not the only thing being important and scarce. He said that adaptability is also a scarce commodity which can't be bought. And he said this does not only apply to humans or trees, but to anything in the world.

He pointed towards an open spot in the forrest. His son walked up to him and looked in awe. His father placed his arm over his son's shoulder. He said the two last scarcest commodities which can't be bought are peace and love. The only way of peace is finding it in yourself. Without peace in yourself you can not be peaceful towards others. Love can only be fully given when having peace inside yourself, while receiving love can help in finding peace.

His son still listened carefully. He told his son: Now you know this, you have all except one thing. His son asked what it was. And he responded to his son: "Have you never missed the love from your parents after those 20 years?". His son had trouble with this, and after a minute's silence said that he missed it. His father told him that it was not too late yet, and to forget grievances of a time long past. They both had gained wisdom, peace and adaptability, and with that they could resolve any conflict or problerm. Past, present and future.

Finally his father added:
One must not seek these 3 things. Once the time is ready they will come to you.

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This is a short story which is quite hard to translate from it's original form. It is a short story which has a lot of deeper meaning. I have kept this one to heart during the difficult times the past years, and I want to pass this on to anyone else who might have use in this.