Here is a little story that came to mind in the early hours of the morning. As with these type of
stories the recipient may find in it, what is in it for him or her.
There was once a falcon to whom the king spoke in terms of endearment. Elated, the royal
bird flew at his behest from the forearm of the king. He flew high and far, beyond the reach
of many another bird. In the course of his flight he spotted a glittering treasure which he had
not in his previous flights noticed. He circled and dived, catching the glittering treasure in
his claws. He saw the treasure had the mark of the king on it and with delight he headed
back to the king.
On the way he happened upon a flock of owls in a wilderness scratching at the earth for
anything they could find. 'How they waste their energies for such baubles', he reflected.
Recalling the generosity of the king, he was anxious to emulate this quality and swooped
down depositing near the owls a precious jewel of great worth from his treasure. In doing so
a blade of straw that he had picked up inadvertently with the treasure fell to earth nearby.
He hovered in the air a while to see the result of his offering. To the falcon's delight the
owls advanced on the place. However delight turned to surprise as he saw the owls ignore
the treasure deposited and advanced in numbers on the piece of straw. They fought and
fussed over the straw but the jewel of great worth remained untouched. The falcon
eventually left in some amazement and returned to the arm of the king. There he related the
tale to the king. The king, who naturally understood the language of the birds, stroked his
falcon. 'Do not be disappointed,' the king said, 'it was ever thus - let the treasure lie where it
is, it may be one day some young falcon who still labours under the impression it is an owl,
will notice the treasure and seeing my mark upon it will seek me out to return it to me, and
thus gain his rightful place at my court. It is the nature of owls to seek what is in accord with
their nature. Perhaps next time you are moved to such an act you should first wrap the
treasure in an abundance of straw. My treasure is to be found in many places waiting for
those who recognise my mark upon it'
Here is another story.
Buying Spectacles
Thanks be to God for the arrival of this story which reached my mind just this morning, so
to speak complete and only requiring to be assembled on the page. This is a kind of ‘flat
pack’ process. By this I refer to the contemporary practice of getting furniture and such like
in kits ready to be assembled - so for the faults of this assemblage blame me not the
Designer or Manufacturer.
This story concerns three brothers – of somewhat different natures. The eldest was of a
somewhat fastidious in nature but with great keenness of mind. The second was inclined to
spiritual enthusiasm and could be termed as either an absent minded dreamer by his
detractors or as ‘other worldly’ by his admirers. The third brother was of a practical turn of
mind capable of being industrious or negligent by turns.
It happened one day their father lectured all three brothers on the importance of the small
kindnesses and courtesies of life. ‘My dear sons’, he said, ‘in this world there is little that
can be accounted as valuable as small acts of courtesy or kindness whether it is in greeting
others politely, going out of your way to assist someone in need, giving respect to the
elderly or help to the disabled or even a small smile of encouragement to the down-hearted.
All our acts large and small are seen by the All-knowing, All-seeing God – and the
accumulated effect of small courtesies has undoubtedly the effect of giving a better quality
of social life and thus is a service to God. There are some things to be born in mind
however. Firstly do not be ostentatious in your acts – it you rather that the recipient who is
the true beneficiary of your act of kindness. Secondly know that God sees in your heart, so
an act of kindness or courtesy only has its full value when it proceeds from a pure heart.
Thirdly do not be negligent in this respect, integrate courtesy into your very nature – do not
merely ‘tack it on’ as an added extra.’
The effect of these words sunk deep into the minds of the three young men so that the
words became manifest in the behaviour of all three. This is the power of good words
properly absorbed. They may appear to be simply a collection of sounds or, if written,
marks on a page but they become manifest in thousands of acts changing the nature of the
world we live in. You could say the words went like an army into the world.
From that day the brothers did what they could to put their father’s words into action.
However the different personalities manifested those words in different ways. The elder
brother became known for his acts of courtesy and he would frequently go out of his way to
perform such acts. He became a byword of courtesy in the local community. The second
brother also did not neglect acts of courtesy but tended to focus, as was his wont, on the
inner spiritual quality of such acts as service to God. The third brother became industrious
in social projects for the welfare of the disadvantaged working hard fixing things for
neighbours and the disadvantaged and so on.
Now it happened one day that the three were going into town on various errands – one of
these involved collecting some new spectacles for the second brother. They went into the
shop which was reached by some steep steps. All three were waiting in the shop, mentally
much engaged in their various thoughts about the tasks they were engaged in. The older
brother with some meal he was preparing to feed the poor. The middle brother was
focussed on the nature of service to God. The younger was concerned about how to fix a
neighbours pipe.
An elderly man with a walking stick began mounting the steps with difficulty – all three
would undoubtedly have helped the man had they not been preoccupied, but as it
happened it was the middle brother who suddenly became aware of the old man – and
without any time for thought, he went down the stairs and assisted the man up the steps. All
three left the shop and none mentioned the incident again.
That night the middle brother had a dream of such strength and vivacity that he was not
sure if he was awake or a sleep. He recollected assisting the old man up the steps but he
was not just an old man but a spiritual king and it was he himself that was being assisted
up the steps to a great throne. The august personage spoke words of benevolence to the
brother and said he would reward him with a great gift – of Divine Knowledge. Thereupon
there flooded over the brother a revelation the like of which it does not behove us to
describe, and from that day forth there remained with the brother an understanding of the
spiritual realities that escapes all but a few.
God knows best and he sees in the hearts the things which are hidden by men even from
themselves.
JMZ July 08