Reminded me of a joke:
A Jewish grandmother and her grandson are at the
beach. The grandmother is sitting on a blanket on the
sand, watching the boy play in the water. Suddenly, a
huge wave appears from nowhere and crashes directly
over the spot where the boy is wading. The water
recedes and the boy is no longer there. The
grandmother holds her hands to the sky and cries out,
"Lord, how could you?"
"Haven't I lived a religious life?"
"Haven't I been a devoted grandmother?"
"Haven't I been a devoted mother?"
"Haven't I kept a kosher home?"
"Haven't I lit candles every Friday night?"
"Haven't I given to B'nai B'rith?"
"Haven't I given to Hadassah?
A voice booms from the sky, "All right! All right!" A
few moments later, another huge wave appears out of
nowhere and crashes on the beach. As the water
recedes, the boy is standing there, smiling and
splashing around, as if nothing had ever happened. The
voice booms again. "I have returned your grandson to
you. Are you satisfied?"
"He had a hat."
--- Duveyoung <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Another Sunday Morning Sermon By Brother Edg
>
> The Seagull story was one of the first I was "hit"
> by when I started
> TM. I've re-written it in my own words. I think
> the story is a good
> thing to put one's attention on -- if one ACTIVELY
> considers what the
> metaphor's impact on "real life" might be -- that
> is, tries to apply
> it to one's psychology. After the story, I'll ask a
> lot of questions
> that only you know the answer to, but while reading
> the story, pause
> and have a thought or two when the word "imagine" is
> used. I think my
> wording of it makes it wonderful to read aloud to a
> child -- looking
> deeply into the child's eyes when an "imagine"
> sentence is read. The
> questions at the end are for those of you who think
> you've grown up.
>
> Here is an ancient story.
>
> A mother seabird laid her eggs upon the beach. The
> ocean's waves came
> and swept the eggs away.
>
> You might imagine how she felt.
>
> The mother seabird asked the ocean to return her
> eggs. The ocean did
> not reply. The mother seabird said, "Very well
> then, I will dry you
> up."
>
> Having thus vowed, the mother seabird began her task
> by taking a beak
> of sand from the beach and dropping it into the
> ocean.
>
> Can you imagine how great was the task she faced?
>
> She continued her efforts. She kept her vow
> relentlessly and
> one-pointedly without any other consideration for
> herself.
>
> You might be able to imagine her alone, in the
> twilight, doing this
> with no help whatsoever.
>
> Soon, very soon, others noticed her efforts, and
> talk spread about her.
>
> As you may well imagine, every manner of comment was
> expressed, but
> the words of others do not concern us here.
>
> After some time, news of the mother seabird's
> efforts reached the king
> of all the birds.
>
> The king was huge, glorious and great beyond
> measure, as I am sure you
> have imagined already.
>
> The king said, "I will go and help this mother."
> After arriving at
> the seaside, the king said, "Give back the children
> to this mother."
>
> You might imagine the depth of the silence in the
> world right after
> the king spoke this command to the ocean.
>
> The ocean trembled, for even one small feather of
> the king could soak
> it up. Quickly the eggs were returned to the
> mother.
>
> I am sure you can imagine how she felt as her wings
> once again
> enfolded them near to her now peaceful heart.
>
> Questions to ask yourself:
>
> Have I ever done anything to match this mother's
> one-pointedness?
>
> With its powerful waves of experiences, what has
> life's ocean swept
> away from me? What might I do to get it back?
>
> Does something right now mean this much to me? What
> have I done to
> find the precious, most lovable, "innocents" of my
> spirit?
>
> Could I feel this way about ANY desire I had? Could
> I ever be THAT
> certain about how my future "should be?"
>
> How does diligence, earnestness, and one-pointedness
> fit into my
> present lifestyle? Would my environment support me
> if I began to "get
> serious" about personal growth, conscious evolution,
> and spiritual
> integrity? What would it cost me to raise my
> dedication to inner work
> up another notch? How about ten notches?
>
> What if I raised it up 100 notches? What king
> within me would then
> respond to this intent?
>
> What would happen if I absolutely meant something
> when I said it? How
> would I know it was absolute? Is there an absolute
> aspect of
> existence to which I could compare it?
>
> Why am I so sure that the words "eternal",
> "absolute", "infinite",
> "certain", and "God" have meaning? What part of me
> knows this? Is this?
>
> How do I enfold my soul with the wings of my heart?
>
>
>
> To subscribe, send a message to:
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> Or go to:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/
> and click 'Join This Group!'
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
> mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>
>
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