Finding Value

I remember an old fable about a truth seeker. After years of searching for the truth, the seeker was told to go to a cave, in which he would find a well. “Ask the well what is truth,” he was advised. “The well will reveal it to you.” When he found the well, the seeker asked that most fundamental question. From the depths came the answer, “Go to the village crossroads: there you will find the truth you are seeking.”

Full of hope, the seeker journeyed to the crossroads only to find three rather dull shops. One shop sold pieces of metal, another sold wood, and the third sold thin wires. Nothing and no one there seemed to have much to do with the revelation of truth.

Disappointed, the seeker returned to the well to demand an explanation, but he was told only, “You will understand in the future.” When he protested, all he got in return were the echoes of his own shouts. Indignant for having been made a fool of — or so he thought at the time — the seeker continued his wanderings. As the years went by, the memory of his experience at the well gradually faded until one night, while he was walking in the moonlight, the sound of sitar music caught his attention. It was wonderful music, played with great mastery and inspiration.

Profoundly moved, the truth seeker moved closer to the sitar player. He looked at the fingers dancing over the strings. He became aware of the sitar itself. Then suddenly he exploded with a cry of joyous recognition: the sitar was made out of wires, pieces of metal and wood just like those he had once seen in the three stores and had thought unimportant.

Excerpt from 'LifeManual' by Peter H. Thomas. www.lifemanual.com. Copyright 2005, 2006. All rights reserved.

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