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Fairy tale for grown-ups who have gotten lost in the woods. . . .
THE FOREST
I asked, ‘how may I find the forest?’
‘Ask the wind,’ replied the silence.
So I asked the wind...
‘Ask the water,’ the wind careened.
So I asked the water...
‘Ask the root,’ spoke the waters languid cacophony.
So I asked the root...
‘Ask the trunk,’ insinuated the root.
So I asked the trunk...
‘Ask the branch,’ said the stoic trunk.
So I asked the branch...
‘Ask the twig’ groaned the branch.
So I asked the twig...
‘Ask the leaf,’ the twig snapped.
So I asked the leaf...
‘Ask the sunlight,’ said the coy leaf.
So I asked the sunlight...
The sunlight laughed and said:
‘See that pool over there, with the tree beside it, and the trout swimming in it, and the shimmer upon its surface, and the ripples?’
With paused breath I acknowledged that I did, indeed...
‘Go and sleep for a moment by that pool and you will dream, and in your dream you will receive an instruction.’
So I went to the poolside and lay me down amongst the sweet wild flowers and myriad busy little lives and did... fall... Into... a... dream...
‘Go to yonder high-hill, far, far away, and climb to its brow. When you have done this ask your question, once again, of the orchestra of the wind,’ said the smiling spirit of the meditation pool.
So I hiked away (for a year and 0.5 of a day) until I was at the top of that faraway place...
And I asked the wind (again)...
‘How may I find the forest, wind?’
And, in arabesques and scribbles and brief hesitancies, the wind replied:
‘Look all around you my little pilgrim...’
And I did look (all around my hat) and lo, spread out before my numerical eye, the endless green dream of...
THE FOREST
Commentary
Yes, we all see different leaves in the forest, however, the forest is an entity in itself. This is my point and 3D circumference. If we get hooked on any partial aspect we will never grok (twig, fully comprehend) the meaning of a thing in its fullness.
When we look at an apple we see various parts of the apple and, at a speed beyond our register, these pieces continually compose our impression of the apple. That is, if we are using focused (foveal) vision to laser-sketch the fruit.
A shaman (and elite forces) trick is to switch to global awareness (peripheral vision). Now we feel the apple, plus the apple's context. This is a blurred, diffuse sort of vision (also useful on night ginko, which is Japan word for a haiku walk, if our night sight has been spoiled by a bright light). With practise we can combine, in variable proportions, this wonderful duality of seeing.
This is the way to avoid any entrapment by personal psychological filters and habitual bias. It's not rocket science, but, it does need the neophyte (tadpole, beginner) to slow down and engage with the teaching or, in this case, the gospel (good news) - for such it really is. . . .
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