Once upon a time there was a seeker
that traveled through life with
open eyes and ears.
The seeker tried out new ideas
and discussed unfamiliar ones
with the people who talked about them.
The seeker continuously recreated the image
of the universe seeking to make the
most sense out of all the ideas
and experiences combined.
The seeker was humble enough to know
it was an impossible task
but worthwhile at the same time.
One day the seeker came upon a man that was crying.
He was sobbing deeply as he sat beside the road.
"What makes you cry so hard?" asked the seeker.
"All the sadness in the world." replied the sad man.
"Do all the wonderful things in the world
make you laugh?" the seeker asked.
At that the crying man stopped crying.
He tipped his head a little to the side,
thought about the question for a moment,
and said, "I only laugh at things one at a time."
"Now that you mention it, there are a lot of
funny and wonderful things."
This made him burst out laughing.
However, this laughter was brief.
The sad man started crying again.
"What now?" the seeker inquired.
"If I had only thought of that sooner
I would have been much happier in my life.
Now I have focused on too many of the sad things.
I won't be able to find balance."
The seeker asked the sad man,
"If you could find balance,
how would you do it?"
The sad man stopped crying once again.
He tipped his to the side and
thought about the question.
Finally, he replied,
"I'll have to figure that one out."
and off he trotted talking to himself.
The seeker sat thinking there
by the side of the road.
"What if happiness is not the
balance point?"
What if it is the ability
to acknowledge sadnesses one at a time
just the way we acknowledge joy.
We can move on.
Then happy and sad memories
can inhabit us
without causing a mutiny.
Does any of that make sense?
Greenmoss
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4 comments:
"Does any of that make any sense?"
Profoundly so. Gibran was amazing:
On Joy and Sorrow
Kahlil Gibran
Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.
And how else can it be?
The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.
Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven?
And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?
When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.
When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.
Some of you say, "Joy is greater thar sorrow," and others say, "Nay, sorrow is the greater."
But I say unto you, they are inseparable.
Together they come, and when one sits, alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.
Verily you are suspended like scales between your sorrow and your joy.
Only when you are empty are you at standstill and balanced.
When the treasure-keeper lifts you to weigh his gold and his silver, needs must your joy or your sorrow rise or fall.
I was incomplete: Gibran was amazing, and you and he are spiritual kin.
You rock.
your words, and you comments, they make me smile. hmm... i feel good about myself but i feel like i shouldn't. look what you've done.
Thank you Mark,
Very kind words, and of course I am completely honored and humbled to be mentioned in the same sentence as Kahlil Gibran.
Your memory astounds me. I am humbled by and appreciate that as well. I rarely have the memory to recall or repeat a quote.
Thank you again my friend,
Greenmoss
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