Once upon a time there were three little pigs who liked basketball.
Growing up, it was time for them to move on, creating their own stadium and their own team. It was summer when they started their journey.
The first piglet was a hurried character. He wanted to quickly prepare a rough open field. Gathered some of his friends, without properly preparing the baskets, bought cheap nets, and cheap balls.
The second pig was more methodical but it also had some elements of haste. He found a place and casually built a wooden indoor court, with a not very good parquet floor and no heating. Gather friends and form a basketball team to play.
The third pig was more methodical. He had patience, worked hard left and right, raising money to build a beautiful indoor stone basketball court. It took a long time to build the stadium. The other two pigs were playing basketball with their teams and passing by the area where the stadium was being built. They asked him to give them up to go play basketball with them. He chased them away and continued his work.
Summer time has passed and the first rains of autumn have come. The piglet with the open field, started to lose his friends, since from the rain they could not play basketball in the open field. The balls got wet and spoiled, the nets too, because they were cheap construction were torn.
So he went with his friends and they asked the piglet with the closed wooden field to play with him. He received them with no particular joy. Once they caught the strong cold of winter, they could not catch the balls well with their frozen fingers. The parquet, which was cheap construction, began to show holes and the roof began to drip. At one point, when a wolf lit a fire in a corner to warm himself, due to his carelessness, the whole field caught fire and burned.
The third pig, in the meantime, had finished the construction of his stadium. A modern indoor gym, with all the comforts of heating, locker rooms, lighting, very good balls and loud nets.
The other two pigs that were found without a field, regretted their mistake. Instead of offering their help for so long, they left the third pig to toil on its own. In fact, the third piglet, despite the fatigue from building the court, when he had time available, completed his studies in basketball coaching and his own players, now learned with the correct methodology to play the sport.
The other piglets apologized to the third piglet. They had realized their mistake. They thought that with hasty individual choices they would get by and did not think how important security and strength are from cooperation and teamwork. How important is the value of teamwork, solidarity and friendship but also the power of many over one, which can be the “bad wolf” in any such situation.
When all together they try to face a difficulty, then everything seems more feasible, as opposed to alienation and isolation, in which, one alone may feel good for a while, but in fact is more vulnerable and defenseless.
In this difficult time we live in, we must manage the “evil wolf”.
But do we have the strength and the logic and the experience to turn evil into good?
To have joy and prosperity for all?
Every bad wolf must be “afraid” of the determination of the many good ones and change his character. We live in an age where we have the experience to manage everyone who deserves a second chance, no matter how different it may seem and no matter how many mistakes are attributed to it.
Decision wants, organization, effort and way.
To put aside any resentment and move on to a new beginning without prejudice. This period is an opportunity to project true values and to forgive those who truly understand the value of forgiveness and to make otherness a positive feature in individuals’ relationships and not a cause for alienation.
Can enemies be forgotten for the sake of friendship and the joy that follows?
Can the “bad wolf” feel the positive elements that his new friends can offer him and take advantage of the opportunity they give him to join them?
Will we miss perhaps one last chance, to differentiate our fate from the fate of the first two pigs?
Will we look like the “evil wolf” of history, which will not have a good end?
At the end of our tale, let the power of collectivity be understood. Where all of us from weak creatures, united in the face of any danger, can win!
But even if we lose, we will have tried for something worthwhile.
With fear, we will take two steps back.
With hope and cooperation, we will take two steps forward.
