I Was Reminded...

 I was reminded of the Indian tale of the Blind Men and the Elephant. 

Each man touches a part of this large animal, 

and thinks they have the whole of it, 

calling it in turn a tree, a snake, a fan, etc.  

How easy it is to grab a first impression, 

and think we have the whole of it. 

How important it is to go deeper, 

to look from a broader perspective. 

We can so easily be these blind men.  

And yet, Gurdjieff goes on to say 

that there is a quintessential "little" bit that implies the whole thing.  

This is what I feel so often, 

in reading and studying Conscious Beings in the work; 

that we have the gift of this distilled knowledge, 

given to us with different accents, or settings, 

and yet the truth, the heart of it all is there in each. 

This is what sustains me in the Work, 

this ability to learn, bit by bit, 

with grace, how to get to the heart of matter.

~J

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