Petit Fours & Metaphors

Tu drew his cloak tightly around him, somewhat uneasily … the raw silk looked a little frayed compared to the newbies sitting at the table. There was a mixture of tourists, of blow-ins, city folk, who clearly loved the vegetarian cuisine; and then there were the people who inhabited the monastery of today, who gave talks and workshops on being superior in all things spiritual.

Tu was enjoying the variety of conversation; it didn’t bother him that they were wrong with most of the thoughts in their discussion - there was a party atmosphere, and it felt enlivening to be part of it, whatever they were saying.

Goober however, had a different approach, for he was forever frustrated with the limited thinking of the ‘spiritual’ people he had encountered thus far. And, at the same time, many generations later, he was appalled at what had become of the monastery - it was little more than an indulgent B & B.

“It's all in the mind you see.”

“No it’s not” said Goober, shaking his head - disturbed at what was being propositioned.

“No, I think you will find it is” … “you’re probably used to the old school approach, but here, at the progressive Retreat, we practise a scientific, more expansive criteria and philosophy … of course, there is no such thing as Dogma, yet we would like to reiterate that the spirit and the spiritual worlds are marvellous metaphors for the interior of a man and his thinking - but that is all they are - we make our own reality - each to his own etc.”

Goober thought about this for all of one minute and then asked: “Are you telling me that other realms don’t exist?”

“Oh no no no, they exist … but in the mind only” the novice explained pointing to his head, as if to make it clear. He had lowered his voice on the word ‘only’ to emphasis the mystery of it being revealed.

“Well, then - they don’t exist?” stammered Goober.

Here Master Tu interjected, “I think what the young monk saying is that we all have different philosophies, and we all see the world differently, and this is what makes this world fundamentally what it is.”

“Nup” said Goober, emphasising the ‘nup’ shaking his head, “it’s not that I don’t see it that way, I’ve just seen and been to other places … and well, they do exist, outside my purview … fact is they were there before me, and will go on without me - so it can’t just be my doing, there are countless realities independent of my imaginings.”

With saying that he snapped his fingers and transported the whole table back to the Monastery of Faerie they originally came from. The food instantly disappeared also, as so did the chairs, and the group of fourteen found themselves upon the mud floor, sore from the fall, and completely perplexed as to what had just happened.

-Gabriel Brunsdon, Finding Self - Second Guesses- Azlander Series