The Village Between Two Lands

Deep in a remote valley, a tribe of people lived in a village surrounded by dense forests and towering mountains. They lived a simple, peaceful life, and had heard tales of two mysterious lands that lay beyond their borders - one to the east, and one to the west. These lands were known as the Forbidden Lands, and it was said that anyone who ventured too far into them would never return the same.

Despite the warnings, some of the tribe’s young people were consumed by a burning curiosity about what lay beyond their home. They began to sneak out of the village, venturing first to the east and then to the west, in search of adventure, knowledge and perhaps even treasure. But what they found in the Forbidden Lands was far beyond anything they could have imagined.

The forbidden land to the east was said to be ancient and steeped in tradition, where the young people who ventured there returned with stories of ancient wisdom and insight. The forbidden land to the west, however, was uncharted and filled with unknown possibilities, where the young people who ventured there returned with valuable resources and new technologies.

Most of the young people who ventured into the forbidden lands returned, but they came back broken, unable to reintegrate into society, almost addicted to the forbidden land. Only a rare few managed to find a perfect balance, bringing back valuable resources and knowledge, and it was these individuals who truly benefited the village.

For the tribe, the village represented a sense of presence and tangibility. The benefits of remaining in the village were clear to them, and the villagers enjoyed a peaceful life with their loved ones, surrounded by the beauty of nature. But the forbidden lands always called out to them, reminding them of the unknown and the vastness of the world beyond their village.

As you may be able to tell, this was a story written by ChatGPT with a quick prompt of the allegory I had in mind and some rounds of feedback. The allegory came to my mind when meditating and being distracted by my proclivity about thinking about the future rather than being present. The images are generated by DALL-E2.