The Universe that lies within

How small we are...
Creative Commons License photo credit: ~jjjohn~

The Astronomer

In the shadow of the temple my friend and I saw a blind man sitting alone. And my friend said, “Behold the wisest man of our land.”
Then I left my friend and approached the blind man and greeted him. And we conversed.
After a while I said, “Forgive my question, but since when hast thou been blind?”
“From my birth,” he answered.
Said I, “And what path of wisdom followest thou?”
Said he, “I am an astronomer.”
Then he placed his hand upon his breast, saying, “I watch all these suns and moons and stars.”

I know I have blogged the above story earlier but it’s really my most oft-recalled story from Khalil Gibran’s The Madman. Have you observed your own soul? If not then I invite you to Behold the wonder in observing your emotions float by. In a way it’s not different from watching clouds float along or sometimes a distant planet through a telescope. The trick is to catch yourself when you’re emotions are racing away. It could because your angry, upset or just delieriously happy. Observe yourself and try not to get attached to what you are seeing. Then you will get a glimpse of the universe that lies within.

You may read the all the short stories of Khalil Gibran’s the Madman here or better yet, hear it by downloading this free audio book.

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