The river which forms the eastern boundary of our farm has always played an important part in our lives. Without it we could not make a living. There is only enough spring water to supply the needs of the house, so we have to pump from the river for farm use. We tell the river all our secrets. We know instinctively, just as beekeepers with their bees, that misfortune might overtake us if the important events of our lives were not related to it.
Of course, the great thing is not to allow any dogmatic to creep in, not to become narrow and intolerant. And it is the same with political opinions. We all know people who are so addicted to their particular variety of snobbery that they limit their intercourse to people of their own kind, and are very surprised and even hurt if one day they find that their teenage son or daughter has married outside their own class or group. But on the whole, we all have a very wide common ground of agreement on which we can talk without any feeling of restraint or self - consciousness. We all know that if we overfish, the fish in the river will soon be exhausted, and so we have an agreement not to fish in the river for more than a certain number of fish each season. We also know that if we do not take good care of the river, the fish will die, and so we have an agreement to keep the river clean.
There is also the question of security. We all know that if we are not on our guard, some day we will be invaded by our neighbours on the other side of the river. So we keep a watchful eye on them, and at the same time we make sure that they know that we are watching them. But on the whole, we live in peace with them. We are all neighbours, after all.
Our relationship with the river is like that of the ancient Greeks with their gods. We have sacrificed a lot to it, and we have also received a lot from it. It is a very important part of our lives.