1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
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The land is parched and a man digs a well to find water for his thirsty plants and gardens. He digs for many hours in the place recommended by the water diviner but he finds nothing and gives up in disgust. He has dug about four metres.
As he sits dejectedly on the great mound of earth he’s removed from the hole, a traveller passes by. The traveller laughs at him for digging there, and indicates a much more likely spot. So the man starts a new well, but after digging for several hours, he has still found no sign of water.
Tired and despondent, he finally accepts some different advice from his young neighbour who assures him that he’ll find water in another place altogether. After he’s given up on that one too, his wife comes out of the house and says, ‘Where are your brains, old man? This is no way to sink a well. Stay in one spot and go deeper and deeper there!’
Saying to oneself that one should ask more and tell less does not solve the problem of building a relationship of mutual trust. The underlying attitude of competitive one-upmanship will leak out if it is there. Humble Inquiry starts with the attitude and is then supported by our choice of questions. The more we remain curious about the other person rather than letting our own expectations and preconceptions creep in, the better our chances are of staying in the right questioning mode.
For those of us in the ‘developed’ world who are over 50 here are three startling statistics to consider. We can expect to live 30 years longer than our great grandparents; our life expectancy is increasing at the astonishing rate of two and a half years every decade(that’s six hours every day!); and that out of all the people who have ever lived beyond 65, two thirds of them are alive today.
The macro context in which this is occurring is that of a planet that’s getting mighty crowded by one particular species. And unforeseen systemic consequences threaten the interplay of natural forces that hold life on earth in a sustainable dynamic tension.
The micro context is equally challenging. Given that many of us may well live to 90 or more what on earth are we usefully going to do with this ‘gift’ of extra time? What opportunities await us? What kind of role could or should we take in society? And how could we start ‘letting go’ of our current conventional roles to create space for younger generations to come through and make their contribution?
“When we fear what other people think about us, we are frequently more focused on ‘being interesting’ and less focused on ‘taking an interest.’ That’s why many people talk a great deal when they are anxious and why many people never feel heard. If both people and conversation are trying to be interesting, there is no one left to genuinely listen.”
― John Yokoyama, When Fish Fly: Lessons for Creating a Vital and Energized Workplace from the World Famous Pike Place Fish Market
“It’s much easier to not know things sometimes. Things change and friends leave. And life doesn’t stop for anybody. I wanted to laugh. Or maybe get mad. Or maybe shrug at how strange everybody was, especially me. Continue reading
If the intellectual can only see that the idiot is just the other side of the same coin, his insulting attitude, his disregard for the idiot will disappear and a feeling of brotherhood will be born. Continue reading
You were in a state of non-duality before your birth, and after death you will return to that same state. Just for a while, in between, there is this wave with all its sound and fury , its momentary rising and its dance in the sunshine. And so for a time the wave gets the idea that “I also exist”. 
Each wave must feel that it is separate from the ocean, it must. And it must also feel that all waves rising around it are separate from it. It must feel like this – and there is a logic behind it. If the wave has its logic , if it has its own intelligence, then it will wonder, “How can I be one with other waves?” It may think, “Some waves are so small, some are so big. We are all so different – how can it be that we are all one?” It will also wonder, “Some waves are falling , while I am just beginning to rise, s how can I be one with the falling waves? If I were one with the falling waves, I would be falling too. Or if a falling wave were really one with me, it would also be rising, like I am.” Continue reading
ONE TUSK 