Through the Eye of the Needle … (04/07/13)
A great king once came to visit Farid, the wise & venerated Sufi mystic. The kind brought with him a beautiful pair of scissors made of gold & studded with diamonds — very valuable, very rare. He approached Farid slowly, touched Farid’s feet, and gave him the priceless gift.
Farid lifted the gleaming scissors, looked at them calmly, and then surprisingly gave them back to the king, saying, “Many thanks for the present that you have brought, dear sir. It is indeed beautiful, but utterly useless to me. It would be better if you could give me a needle. Scissors I don’t need; a needle I do.”
The king was shocked at the gesture and confused by the words, saying, “I don’t understand. If you need a needle, you will need the scissors as well.”
Farid smiled gently & replied, “Scissors I don’t need because scissors cut things apart. A needle I need because a needle puts things together. You see, my dear Friend, my entire teaching is based on LOVE — bringing Harmony, making Peace, enlivening real Wisdom. Scissors are useless for such work; they cut, they disconnect, they separate. It is only the needle we can use to bring real Togetherness. So the next time you visit, an ordinary needle will be more than enough.”
Anger is a pair of scissors … separating every victim from her perpetrator; casting them both into the abyss of cold isolation. Forgiveness is the needle that repairs this rent, allowing the warmth of Harmony to glow again.
Faith is a pair of scissors … actually separating a believer from his God; casting him into the pit of pious judgment and his God into vaccuousness of Heavens “elsewhere”. Kindness — when given humbly, especially to the “heathen” — is the needle that bridges this gap, allowing for a reUnion real between God & man.
Reason is a pair of scissors … separating every Truth from its internal Wisdom; casting them both into the realm of arrogant conviction & confused pondering. Humility is the needle that allows these lost seekers of “fact” to make fresh leaps of real FAITH, allowing their Truths to be openly tested — and Wisdom to be rediscovered therein.
Each of us is the needle that can soothe all hatreds & right all wrongs. Each of us is the needle — & our LOVE unconditional is the thread that passes effortlessly through our needle’s eye.
LOVE is the thread that mends our fear & anger …
LOVE is the active mending of all wounds past & present.
Got LOVE?
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