Trust Me !
It was customary for Master and Student go spend time
each day walking along the paths that wound through the
mountains around the monastery. One day, while Master
and Student were out walking, they came upon a cliff
edge. Master boldly stepped to the very edge of the
rock and gazed lovingly at the valley below and the
surrounding mountains. He then turned to Student, who
was standing quite safely back from the edge of the
cliff, and said "Come closer so that you can see the
beauty that is all around us."
"No thank you Master," replied the student nervously.
"I can see quite well from here."
"Nonsense," said Master. "You must come closer."
"But I may fall. Please Master, I am afraid."
"Trust me," said Master. "I would not ask you to do
anything that would harm you. Now come closer."
Slowly the student edged toward the cliff. As he
reached the edge, Master smiled and put his arm around
Student. "There," said the Master. "Is it not a
beautiful view?"
"Yes, Master," admitted Student. "It is quite
beautiful. I did not know the valley was so far below
our monastery. It is quite a drop to the valley
below."
"It is not so far," replied Master. "Here at this
cliff you need but take a single step to reach the
valley floor."
"But Master," insisted Student. "The drop from here is
great. If I stepped out here, I would surely die from
the fall."
"You will learn that the distance between life and
death is but a single step," Master told him. "Our
life is one long series of steps. We go through life,
step over step until one day we die.
"Each step brings us great joy and adventure as well as
the possibility of death. But you can not simply stand
still in fear of meeting death upon the road. Walk
boldly along the path of life. Enjoy the wonders that
are there for us all to see. So that when the day comes
when you you do meet death, you will know that you have
not shrunk from life, but embraced it.
How many of us go through life in our protective cocoons ?
Feeling safe and secure. Some with cocoons made of money
only to find that money does not really protect as well as we
had thought. Causing the cocoon to unravel and expose us to
the world.
Or we make our cocoons out of nice pictures of the world the way
we want it to be. Like a soap bubble it reflects our view of the world
back at us. Giving the illusion of safety. But bubbles break and once
again we are exposed to reality.
Then there are those who build cocoons like a fortress. Thinking if
we use force and might, that no one can enter. But all fortresses
have a week spot and once again reality gets in.
Or do we except life on it's own terms and enjoy the beauty and wonder
it provides.
Most of us fall somewhere in between. Peeking out once in a while
to see if the coast is clear.
"But it is not your own Shire. Others dwelt here before Hobbits.
Others will dwell here when Hobbits are no more. You can fence
yourself in...but you cannot for ever fence the wild world out."
Gildor Inglorion
C
each day walking along the paths that wound through the
mountains around the monastery. One day, while Master
and Student were out walking, they came upon a cliff
edge. Master boldly stepped to the very edge of the
rock and gazed lovingly at the valley below and the
surrounding mountains. He then turned to Student, who
was standing quite safely back from the edge of the
cliff, and said "Come closer so that you can see the
beauty that is all around us."
"No thank you Master," replied the student nervously.
"I can see quite well from here."
"Nonsense," said Master. "You must come closer."
"But I may fall. Please Master, I am afraid."
"Trust me," said Master. "I would not ask you to do
anything that would harm you. Now come closer."
Slowly the student edged toward the cliff. As he
reached the edge, Master smiled and put his arm around
Student. "There," said the Master. "Is it not a
beautiful view?"
"Yes, Master," admitted Student. "It is quite
beautiful. I did not know the valley was so far below
our monastery. It is quite a drop to the valley
below."
"It is not so far," replied Master. "Here at this
cliff you need but take a single step to reach the
valley floor."
"But Master," insisted Student. "The drop from here is
great. If I stepped out here, I would surely die from
the fall."
"You will learn that the distance between life and
death is but a single step," Master told him. "Our
life is one long series of steps. We go through life,
step over step until one day we die.
"Each step brings us great joy and adventure as well as
the possibility of death. But you can not simply stand
still in fear of meeting death upon the road. Walk
boldly along the path of life. Enjoy the wonders that
are there for us all to see. So that when the day comes
when you you do meet death, you will know that you have
not shrunk from life, but embraced it.
How many of us go through life in our protective cocoons ?
Feeling safe and secure. Some with cocoons made of money
only to find that money does not really protect as well as we
had thought. Causing the cocoon to unravel and expose us to
the world.
Or we make our cocoons out of nice pictures of the world the way
we want it to be. Like a soap bubble it reflects our view of the world
back at us. Giving the illusion of safety. But bubbles break and once
again we are exposed to reality.
Then there are those who build cocoons like a fortress. Thinking if
we use force and might, that no one can enter. But all fortresses
have a week spot and once again reality gets in.
Or do we except life on it's own terms and enjoy the beauty and wonder
it provides.
Most of us fall somewhere in between. Peeking out once in a while
to see if the coast is clear.
"But it is not your own Shire. Others dwelt here before Hobbits.
Others will dwell here when Hobbits are no more. You can fence
yourself in...but you cannot for ever fence the wild world out."
Gildor Inglorion
C
Advertisement
Thank you for this. I wish I could write it all out in big, bold and beautiful calligraphy and frame it so that I can re-read it when I need to.
August 22, 2009 5:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks Lis. I received this many many years ago when I was in a fairly low place and have re-read it many times since.
C
August 22, 2009 5:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
Beautifully done, C. It is uplifting and so very pertinent to the way many feel during their lives. I wish I had read this during some dark times in my life. It might have made a difference. But I am privileged to read it now.
August 22, 2009 6:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
This was beautiful. I have to admit, though that I thought one or the other of them was going to shove the other one off the cliff. What does that say about me and my experiences? Thanks for the lesson.
August 22, 2009 8:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
You will learn that the distance between life and
death is but a single step," Master told him. "Our
life is one long series of steps. We go through life,step over step until one day we die.
Damn that is good. I hereby render unto you the Knightly Blog of the Day Award for this here TPMCafe Site, given to all of you from all of me.
no we cannot merely stay still and shiver in fear.
August 22, 2009 10:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
No, we cannot. We must react, move, take action. In that order.
August 23, 2009 3:44 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thank you for this C.
It conjured a recollection from a few years back. I had just gotten into "Steppenwolf." The edition from the library had a prologue in which Hesse pointed out that Harry Haller had chosen to be the way he was.
It had never occurred to me that we are the manufacturers of our own perceptions. That awareness was accompanied by a thrilling sense of freedom. But then after a few days it was back to:
Just let go.
August 23, 2009 9:55 AM | Reply | Permalink
If I were to try to write my teaching philosophy it would come very close to this... especially with the freshmen. By the end of the semester I want them to dare to lead me to the edge of the cliff to show me what they see. Sometimes that's harder for them to dare to do, to believe that I trust them.
The freshies came on campus yesterday and I sat through the freshman convocation in full academic drag, under a tent. Perspiration was dripping off me like sweat.
I heard the President welcome them with the same old jokes "return your parents' e-mails...money may follow," "parents, when you get that huge bag of dirty clothes, remember we do have washing machines on campus". The heat made me cranky, but I got uncrankified when I looked at the newbies to the academic community. Such expectations on their faces. There was one freshman clearly taller than I am...that may be the first time in 38 years. I thought he was standing on a chair. We caught each other's eye and I winked, and he winked back.
I'm tenured to the point that as long as I breathe regularly I have a job. But I wouldn't miss freshman convocation no matter what.
August 23, 2009 2:35 PM | Reply | Permalink