Once upon a time there was a shop in a town. This shop had a big sign that meant nothing to passers-by, and was forever changing the description beneath, and sometimes didn't even having anything at all displayed over the door. The bell on the door never jangled; the people in the town could be seen walking past the shop day after day, heads down, talking amongst themselves, no one ever looking in the empty window. They walked slowly and painfully, holding their stomachs - hollow from lack of food, the fatigue and pain of malnourishment obvious for all to see. The shop might sometimes change its name from "Oven Operative Needs" through "Kitchen Technician Notions" to "Nutrient Substances", forever thinking up new, unfathomable names that the people ignored. Sometimes the sign was covered in indecipherable print that carried a seemingly complicated message, but the starving people felt no inclination to read it in their discomfort.
Just down the road there was a place some people had discovered. It was a special place where a cook could stop the hunger pangs and allow them to return to health. The people’s hunger was often so huge that they flocked to this place in great numbers. They thought that one meal from this chef would fill their bellies for ever and stop the need to search for food from then on. The meal they ate did stop the hunger pangs, but they had to keep going back to this shop to stop them from returning. And their lives were on hold for the need of this place.
One day a group of friends decided they would enter the shop with the funny names they didn't understand. What on earth was an "Oven Operative" anyway? And what could they possibly need from it? When they went in they found shelves and shelves of food. They found cooking equipment, and recipe books galore. Oh my goodness!" said one, "This is the shop that will stop us from starving! How could it be that no one knows about it? That so many are starving, and either going to the cook who cooks them expensive meals each time they can bear the pain no more, or walking past this shop over and over as they discuss how hard it is to live with their pain and hunger!”
The friends ran out of the shop to tell everyone, but the people said, "No, that shop can't sell anything we need; look at the name! It's nothing to do with food, and that's what we need!" No matter what the friends tried, the people wouldn't believe them and went on starving, just occasionally visiting the cook’s place for a meal when they were desperate.
So the friends went to the man who ran the shop with the funny names. "How about you just write 'FOOD' over the shop door?" they said. And they went to the chef's place and said, "How about you join with the man who sells the food and utensils and add 'LEARN TO COOK HERE' over the door?" And they connected the two men who began to work together - selling the ingredients and showing the people how to cook them for themselves.
The simply named shop became busier and busier, the window more and more interesting, the bell on the door jangling merrily every few minutes. The town became a very happy place where people lived happily ever after with delicious food in their bellies, and the skills and talents to keep it so.
So, with The Alexander Technique shop, what name would you like to see over the door so you know what it sells. What it can offer you? So you know to go and and discover the delights on the shelves? So you knew how to share this place with your friends? I'd love to know your answers!
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