Stories to Challenge Us?
Posted by Pat on October 1, 2012 in Uncategorized | ∞
Word pictures do it for me! How about you? So let’s imagine a fish (you? me?) being told that we are surrounded by water but don’t quite realize what this means, since we can’t “see” it.
We can imagine our fish-self swimming north, south, east and west in search of water. If we think of ourselves as this fish, we can even imagine continuously endeavoring to discover just where the Waters of Life are and how to approach them.
Perhaps some wise old fish might say,
“It has come down to us through tradition that in ancient times our ancestors knew about a wonderful ocean of life. They prophesied a day when all shall live in the Waters of Life happily forever.
And can’t we imagine all the other fish getting together, rolling their eyes, wiggling their tails, looking wise and mysterious and beginning to chant, “O water, water, water, we beseech you to reveal yourself to us; we beseech you to flow around and through us, even as you did in the days of our revered ancestors.”
As a matter of fact, we are in the Water of Life as the fish is in the ocean. The Spirit of Life is all around us. It flows through us. It permeates everything. It is the essence of all form and flows through every condition. And yet we are still looking for It. What we look for we unwittingly look at, but fail to recognize.
(this metaphor comes from Ernest Holmes’ little book “This Thing Called Life.”)
Are we always looking outside ourselves for answers? Do we recognize what we want when we get it? Is the grass always greener on the other side of the fence? Do we continue to search for the “better” or the “more” when we have been gifted with our own uniqueness, talents, and experiences?
What about the story of the mouse who was afraid of the cat? His fear grew and grew until at last he wished with all his might to become a cat. His wish was granted, and he did indeed become a cat.
But the cat was then afraid of the dog…
But the dog was afraid of the lion…
But the lion was afraid of the hunter…
But the hunter, poor man, was afraid of his wife…
So the hunter became a wife.
But, alas, this was not the end of the chain of fear, for the wife, too, was afraid. She was afraid of the mouse!
So is there a lesson we can learn from these “stories?”
- Perhaps to acknowledge that there’s a lot we don’t know?
- Perhaps that it doesn’t matter what we don’t yet know?
- Perhaps to allow that we are what we should be, where we should be?
- Perhaps to view ourselves with a sense of humor?
Do you have any “stories” that speak to you? We’d love to have you share!