In the shady corner of the great market in Mexico City sits an old Indian man named Pedro. He has twenty strings of onions hanging in front of him for sale. An American businessman from Chicago comes up to him and says: “How much for a string of onions.?”
“Ten cents” says Pedro.
“How much for two strings.?”
“Twenty cents” is the reply.
“Well, how much for three strings” asks the American.
“Thirty cents” Pedro answers.
“Not much reduction in that” says the American, “would you take twenty five cents.?”
“No” says Pedro.
“How much for the whole twenty strings” says the businessman.
“I will not sell you my twenty strings” says the old Indian.
“Why not” says the American, “aren’t you here to sell your onions.?”
“No, I am not here to sell my onions” says Pedro, “I am here to live my life. I love the market, I love the sounds, I love the smells. I love to have Chico and Luis come by and call out “Buenas dias” and I love to listen as they tell me about their lives, about how their crops are doing and how their families are managing. I love to speak with my friends, I love to listen as Maria comes by to tell me about her children while they laugh and play around me, for this is my life and this is why I sit here all day and sell my twenty strings of onions. But if I sell all of my onions to one customer, then is my day come to an end and I will have sold my means to living the life that I love. I would not be selling you my onions, I would be selling you my life, and that I just will not do.”
(Erwin McManus)
This story says a lot about living life in such a way as to value community over commerce, and to value the sacred over the secular.
Sometimes we are so busy getting to where we want to be, that we forget to enjoy where we are right in the here and now.
But it also says something about knowing and understanding that “mission” is more important than “vision”.
It is always very helpful for us to have direction in life, to know just where exactly we are headed and how we are going to get there. But what is far more important than knowing where we are going, is knowing the reason for our existence in the first place.
This is the difference between “mission” and “vision”.
Most of us find it relatively easy to know where we are going in the short term, but we struggle to know where we are going in the longer term.
And one of the main reasons for this, is that most of us understand what it is to have "vision", but all too often we mistake "vision" for "mission".!!
But "vision" and "mission" are two totally different things.
Mission is not so much about where we are going, as it is about why we exist. For Pedro….vision was about selling onions, but mission was about living life in community.
Vision comes and vision goes.
Mission never changes.
Vision gives us new directions to take, and enables us to achieve many great things, but mission gives us reason and purpose for being involved in the visions of our life and gives us the strength and passion to complete them and find a sense of fulfilment in them.
You can have vision and still be completely void of mission.
Vision is about knowing where we are going, but mission is about knowing why we are going where we are going, and why we are doing what we are doing. The mistake we usually make often without realising it, is to define our mission by our vision. We get all excited about some new venture or some new project that we are taking on, it may be a new house, a new car, a new job, a new baby or a new ministry, and then what tends to happen all too often is we begin to define our mission by whatever direction that new venture is taking us.
We change our priorities and redefine our lives around the new vision that we have, when what we should be doing is defining our Vision around our Mission in life.
What’s your reason and purpose for selling onions..?
