May this sharing find you, and all who you hold dearly, well.
As some of you know, recently, I participated in a 10-day silent retreat at the Vipassana Meditation Center in Shelburne MA. It was one of the most challenging and powerful experiences of my life.
Of the many insightful parables (long-time subscribers know how fond I am of both modern and ancient parables) shared by the teacher this one stands out and I would like to share it with you.
So there is a blind man who is walking along the path. He starts out strongly but because he cannot see he is at risk for walking off the path, taking a wrong turn, or worse yet walking off a steep cliff. Consequently, he moves more slowly, cautiously, and with ever-increasing fear.
There is another man who can see but he is lame. He is sitting at the start of the path. He can look out at the expanse ahead, admire its beauty, and see the twists, turns, perils, and the ultimate destination far ahead. But because he is lame he cannot make any progress along the way.
It is only the man who has both eyesight and the ability to walk who can experience the journey.
As I contemplate this story to see what it holds for me, I have looked for ways where I have been blind, lacking understanding, or lame, denying myself the experience of life’s many situations. As my awareness increases and I become more trusting of my intuition I see the critical value of cultivating understanding with the rich fertilizer of experience.
And what a beautiful garden is blossoming!
I invite each of you to test this parable in your own life. Where can you deepen your understanding of things? Where do you “go dumb” and operate unconsciously? And how about you “head types” who have it all figured out… how would the actual experiences enrich your life? Where have you not acted when it was action that is called for?
I don’t know how much of this will ring true for each of you. I do know what the learning has opened for me. As always, I welcome the opportunity to chat with you about any of this if you are interested.
