A Parable:
Once upon a time, not too very long ago there was a land of chocolate. It was a fabulously delicious land. Everyone there was a kiss, made from the finest chocolate. Of course there were some minor variations: Some were made of dark chocolate, some of milk chocolate, and some were a combination. Some even had nuts. But everyone agreed that a kiss was the perfect shape because everybody loved kisses.
So it was a beautiful land. Everybody was the same with just enough variation for everyone to be interested but comfortable. Of course it was not always that way. The leaders of the community cringed when they remembered how it used to be. Thankfully, they were able to get rid of those awful M&Ms once and for all. They looked very different. Of course they claimed that they were the same chocolate on the inside, but the kisses never believed it, not for a minute. They did not even need to taste what was inside to know. It was quite obvious. Their outsides were, well, colored!
Bruised and battered, the M&Ms landed outside the city walls. It became obvious they would never be loved, never be kissed in that place. That is when the M&Ms set out on the long and perilous journey. They had read long ago in their book about a faraway place where they could have a homeland, a place where other M&Ms had gone on before. Could it possibly be true? They were not sure, but still, they had to try.
Their colorful shells were nearly melted from the scorching heat when they came over the great rise and spied the city shimmering in the distance. They wiped their huge eyes with their white gloved hands. Could it be? The place the book had told them about? With renewed vigor they ran toward the great gate. They gazed up at the gatekeeper. She was like nothing they had ever seen. One minute green, the next pink, then blue, then red, and every color in between. And with the kindest smile the M&Ms had ever witnessed, she uttered the words they longed to hear:
WELCOME ALL! I AM THE KEEPER OF THIS PLACE OF REFUGE!
They were shown around. They were given the rules. They were allowed to choose a brand new name. They were told that all of the colors were welcome here, and that no one would care if they chose to reveal if they had peanuts or not. It was truly an amazing place.
As they got to know others in the Place of Refuge, life was amazing. It seemed that in no time at all, they began to understand their purpose in this world. They began to appreciate the differences in one another. They began to notice the subtleties in each others' makeup that they had not seen before. After all, they had been too fixed on just surviving during their long exodus to concentrate on anything so trivial as that.
Now many yearned in their hearts for the Land of Chocolate. Here in the Place of Refuge they found out some amazing things. Some of the M&Ms had been able to put together the resources to have their shells altered. They had learned to look and speak and act like kisses. They were ready to return, and some did with none of the kisses the wiser. They were missed in the Place of Refuge but most were very happy. Others went back and tried to change the mind of the kisses. They were mostly ignored. Still , everyone hoped they would eventually succeed.
As life settled in to a routine, the new M&Ms began to be more acutely aware of their differences. Every now and again, there was a squabble. In particular, some of the M&Ms had a slight aroma to them. It was a little minty. Now to be sure, they were a small minority, and it only happened to the green or red ones. That was when a few of the senior M&Ms remembered that this was the same smell they had encountered back in the Land of Chocolate when the kisses had made that Christmas commercial. Some of the kisses had formed a handbell act and even made it onto TV. It was a glorious time for kisses. Their pride was at an all-time high. Those memories really hurt. But that mint smell, that was surely the smell of Christmas, the smell that really belonged to the kisses. It is said that the sense of smell is the one that triggers our emotions the most vividly. There were just way too many bad memories associated with that minty smell!
So many of the older residents of the Place of Refuge decided that it was just way too uncomfortable with that smell around. Any time it would pop up, they would remind everyone of how much it reeked of the kisses. It started slowly, but eventually began to be quite painful for the "Christmas M&Ms" as the others had dubbed them. They began to wonder what they had done wrong. They had no recollection of treating the others wrongly, and they were surely genuine M&Ms even if they were a little unique. But no matter, the more the others talked about the smell, the worse it seemed.
One by one, the "Christmas M&Ms" trickled sadly through the front gate of the Place of Refuge. It seemed ironic to them that they were the ones who had borne the book that first told so long ago of a place of refuge where anyone could be safe. They looked at their once proud shells. Some had nicks or chips. Some were showing their chocolate. As they pondered what they might possibly do next, they saw a new band of M&Ms excitedly approach the city gate. Their big eyes were so hopeful as they heard the words of the gate keeper:
WELCOME ALL! I AM THE KEEPER OF THIS PLACE OF REFUGE!
