Parable: A man, and a rock
@innertalks (21862)
Australia
June 18, 2024 9:06pm CST
A man once went out, and sat down on a rock, which was hard on his backside, after a while.
He said to the rock:
"Why are you so hard, and not soft, like me?"
The rock replied:
"Never can there be two rock like substances together, as they will be like a rock in a hard place, not two of a kind, incompatibly matched, and empty of both hardness, and softness, as one must play itself off against the other to be itself for real."
Surprised that the rock answered him, the man laughed out loud, as he replied:
"I guess that you are right."
"Two rocks just rub themselves up the rock way, but softness on a rock, soothes the rock, as it supports its load. Opposite qualities both have their place within our world then."
"Love, and life, are friends; never should they be enemies,"
answered the rock.
The man then got up from the rock, and continued his walk.
Photo Credit: The photo used in this article was sourced from the free media site, pixabay.com
Hardness requires softness to be appreciated fully.
5 people like this
4 responses
@Deepizzaguy (101894)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
19 Jun
Thank you for sharing the lesson of hardness requiring softness to be appreciated fully.
3 people like this
@innertalks (21862)
• Australia
19 Jun
That's ok. Opposites usually do need an element of each other in us, to be fully understood.
@innertalks (21862)
• Australia
20 Jun
@Deepizzaguy Yes, and it is always good to have at least a few differences between people to make for a more interesting mix.
@Deepizzaguy (101894)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
19 Jun
@innertalks My late parents were that way. Opposites attract.
3 people like this
@innertalks (21862)
• Australia
20 Jun
Thanks. With a parable, I thought I could get away with some imaginary talking like that.
3 people like this
@innertalks (21862)
• Australia
19 Jun
That is true.
I travelled on our local trains at the weekend for an hour, and the seats these days, in them here, are very hard. A very thin cushion on steel. I felt numb afterwards.
In the past, they were very soft and comfortable, more like sofas. With seats, progress has taken us all backwards, it seems.
@Shiva49 (26634)
• Singapore
19 Jun
@innertalks As I get older, even an hour's journey on a train or plane is not what I look forward to.
Then again those older than me fly hours when they know their loved ones are looking forward to them.
That reminds me of what Einstein explained about the theory of relativity - “When you sit with a nice girl for two hours you think it’s only a minute, but when you sit on a hot stove for a minute you think it’s two hours. That’s relativity.”
2 people like this
@innertalks (21862)
• Australia
20 Jun
@Shiva49 And yet, relativity does not have much to do with the truth of us getting old. There is nothing relative about that. We all get old, and die.
Relativity is more a description, a nice-sounding floral decoration of thought, than an accurate statement of truth, I think. Truth always remains truth despite any relative thoughts about it.
2 people like this
@Shiva49 (26634)
• Singapore
19 Jun
The whole of creation is replete with contrasts.
Take, for example, man and woman! So different yet so similar, The relationship is still evolving.
Variety is the spice of life but we want others to think and act like us all the time.
We have a role to play as does the rock. Coexistence is just what the "good doctor" ordered.
However, we choose to play with fire unnecessarily needling others.
2 people like this
@innertalks (21862)
• Australia
20 Jun
Yes, every part of existence fits into existence, and has its own vital part to play.
Nothing could be taken away in some senses, until it is ready to go away, like the dinosaurs had their time, and have now gone.
@innertalks (21862)
• Australia
21 Jun
@Shiva49 Yes, a helicopter view might be nice, but we might still miss some of the underlying truths then even too.
"No matter what our difficulties may be, we recognize that there is a deep untroubled stream flowing below all surface troubles, and that we are of one substance with that stream. The soul knows no difficulties."
James Thornton.
We need to see the deeper unseen connection too, that a helicopter view can never show to us too.
@Shiva49 (26634)
• Singapore
21 Jun
@innertalks It will be a treat to have a helicopter view of how creation plays out from beginning to end.
But it looks like it is beyond our ken,
2 people like this
