A secular parable of abundance versus hell

I came upon a door, and behind it was hell. There was a dining hall filled with rows of tables, each table teaming with a magnificent feast. It looked and smelled delicious, yet the people seated around the tables were emaciated and sickly, moaning with hunger...I realized that each person held a very long spoon. With it they could reach the feast, but the spoon was too long to bring nourishment to their mouth. In spite of the abundance before them, they were starving.

I opened a new door, one that led to heaven. I was surprised to see that very same scene before my eyes, a dining hall filled with row upon row of tables, and on those tables, a marvelous feast. But instead of moaning with hunger, the people around the tables were sitting contentedly, talking with one another, sated from the abundance before them. Like those in hell, these people were holding very long spoons. As I watched, a woman dipped her spoon into a bowl of stew before her, but rather than struggling to feed herself, she extended her spoon out and fed the man seated across from her. This person, now satisfied and no longer hungry, gave thanks and returned the favor, leaning across the table to feed the woman.

I suddenly understood the difference between heaven and hell. (From FEE)