Skip to main content

THE LEARNING HUB: There is an old Eastern fable about

There is an old Eastern fable about a traveler who is taken unawares on the steppes by a ferocious wild animal. In order to escape the beast the traveler hides in an empty well, but at the bottom of the well he sees a dragon with its jaws open, ready to devour him. The poor fellow does not dare to climb out because he is afraid of being eaten by the rapacious beast, neither does he dare drop to the bottom of the well for fear of being eaten by the dragon. So he seizes hold of a branch of a bush that is growing in the crevices of the well and clings on to it. His arms grow weak and he knows that he will soon have to resign himself to the death that awaits him on either side. Yet he still clings on, and while he is holding on to the branch he looks around and sees that two mice, one black and one white, are steadily working their way round the bush he is hanging from, gnawing away at it. Sooner or later they will eat through it and the branch will snap, and he will fall into the jaws of the dragon. The traveler sees this and knows that he will inevitably perish. But while he is still hanging there he sees some drops of honey on the leaves of the bush, stretches out his tongue and licks them. In the same way I am clinging to the tree of life, knowing full well that the dragon of death inevitably awaits me, ready to tear me to pieces, and I cannot understand how I have fallen into this torment. And I try licking the honey that once consoled me, but it no longer gives me pleasure. The white mouse and the black mouse โ€“ day and night โ€“ are gnawing at the branch from which I am hanging. I can see the dragon clearly and the honey no longer tastes sweet. I can see only one thing; the inescapable dragon and the mice, and I cannot tear my eyes away from them. And this is no fable but the truth, the truth that is irrefutable and intelligible to everyone.

The delusion of the joys of life that had formerly stifled my fear of the dragon no longer deceived me. No matter how many times I am told: you cannot understand the meaning of life, do not thinking about it but live, I cannot do so because I have already done it for too long. Now I cannot help seeing day and night chasing me and leading me to my death. This is all I can see because it is the only truth. All the rest is a lie.

Those two drops of honey, which more than all else had diverted my eyes from the cruel truth, my love for my family and for my writing, which I called art โ€“ I no longer found sweet. ~Leo Tolstoy


(Art: 'Traveler, Thar desert', painting by Adnan Yunu

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

In the midst of turmoil, I found my unshakeable anchor in God

In the midst of turmoil, I found my unshakeable anchor in God. He was my rock, my fortress, and my savior all at once. Whenever I felt overwhelmed, I would run to Him for refuge, knowing that He would protect me from harm. His presence was my shield, deflecting the arrows of adversity, and His power was the horn of my salvation, announcing victory over my struggles. In my darkest moments, I would cry out to the Lord, who is worthy of all praise and honor. And every time, He would deliver me from the clutches of my enemies - whether they were physical, emotional, or spiritual. He was my stronghold, my place of safety, and my guiding light in the darkness. Through every trial and tribulation, I learned to trust in God's unwavering love and protection. He was my rock, my foundation, and my salvation - and I knew that with Him by my side, I could face anything that came my way. ~ ๐“™๐“ธ๐“พ๐“ป๐“ท๐“ฎ๐”‚ ๐“ธ๐“ฏ ๐“›๐“ฒ๐“ฏ๐“ฎ The Learning Hub 2024

THE LEARNING HUB: When you wake up in the morning...

When you wake up in the morning, tell yourself: the people I deal with today will be meddling, ungrateful, arrogant, dishonest, jealous and surly. They are like this because they can't tell good from evil. But I have seen the beauty of good, and the ugliness of evil, and have recognized that the wrongdoer has a nature related to my own - not of the same blood and birth, but the same mind, and possessing a share of the divine. And so none of them can hurt me. No one can implicate me in ugliness. Nor can I feel angry at my relative, or hate him. We were born to work together like feet, hands and eyes, like the two rows of teeth, upper and lower. To obstruct each other is unnatural. To feel anger at someone, to turn your back on him: these are unnatural. ~Marcus Aurelius Book: Meditations https://amzn.to/3qjadxq (Art: Painting by Maximilien Luce)

THE LEARNING HUB: All Art Is A Work In Progress

All art is a work in progress. Itโ€™s helpful to see the piece weโ€™re working on as an experiment. One in which we canโ€™t predict the outcome. Whatever the result, we will receive useful information that will benefit the next experiment. If you start from the position that there is no right or wrong, no good or bad, and creativity is just free play with no rules, itโ€™s easier to submerge yourself joyfully in the process of making things. Weโ€™re not playing to win, weโ€™re playing to play. And ultimately, playing is fun. Perfectionism gets in the way of fun. A more skillful goal might be to find comfort in the process. To make and put out successive works with ease. ~Rick Rubin (Book: The Creative Act: A Way of Being https://amzn.to/44E84Mw) (Art: Photograph of painter Renรฉ Magritte at work in his living room, 1964)