Desire
This parable was received in a weekly email from Rob Brezsny, Freewill Astrology Newsletter.
The newsletter edition from Brezsny, a fine writer, is an analysis of desire, the morality of craving. I will say no more. Just enjoy the story!
THE MYSTERY OF THIRST
Imagine this scene. I’m really thirsty—so dehydrated that I’m feeling faint. Yet here’s the weird thing: I’m walking along the bank of a wide river that’s so clear I could see the bottom if I looked. But I’m not looking. In fact, I seem oblivious to the surging force of nature just a few yards away.
Is it invisible to me? Am I so preoccupied with my suffering that I’m blind to a source that would end my suffering?
Up ahead I see a man. As I approach, I realize he’s holding a bottle of water. I run to him and beg him to let me drink. He readily agrees. Gratefully, I guzzle the precious liquid, then thank him profusely.
As I walk away, he calls after me, “By the way, there’s a lot more water over there,” and he points to the river.
Do I hear him? If I hear him, do I believe him? Or do I keep walking, hoping to find another person with another bottle somewhere up ahead?
