That night I dreamed again.
The man in brown walked along the road, and this time I could follow. "You see, there are few objective limits. What they teach you is useful, but never accept the proposition that just because a solution satisfies a problem, that it must be the ONLY solution."
The man in brown stopped. "Look at this," he said, pointing to a flower beside the road. I leaned down to see what the man was pointing at. A small spider spun a web between two leaves. "That creature," said the man in brown, "toils oblivious to our passing. Either of us could crush out its existence at whim. Consider this, then: if that creature could somehow apprehend our existence, our threat to it's life, would the spider worship us?"
"I don't know," i answered. "I don't know how a spider thinks."
The man in brown leaned upon his staff. "Considering how little humans think alike, it might be that this spider would react with fear, defiance, indifference, fatalism, or incredulity. Anything's possible." He reached out with his staff and gently caught a piece of spider silk on the wooden pole. Lifting the arachnid, he transported it over to the opposite side of the road. "Do you think the creature knows that this is a different flower?"
"I don't know."
The man in brown smiled. "That is perhaps the wisest of all answers."
Returning to his walk, he said, "You will be seeing many things soon, some of which will make little sense to you. When you do, remember one thing."
"What is that?" i asked tenatively.
"Things are not always what they seem. Remember the spider, who at this very moment may be offering prayers to me in thanks for it's sudden bounty." Pointing back with the staff at the plant, he said, " There are a great many more bugs on that one than the other."
Scratching at his beard he added, "I wonder: is the flower also offering prayers of thanks?"
The man in brown walked along the road, and this time I could follow. "You see, there are few objective limits. What they teach you is useful, but never accept the proposition that just because a solution satisfies a problem, that it must be the ONLY solution."
The man in brown stopped. "Look at this," he said, pointing to a flower beside the road. I leaned down to see what the man was pointing at. A small spider spun a web between two leaves. "That creature," said the man in brown, "toils oblivious to our passing. Either of us could crush out its existence at whim. Consider this, then: if that creature could somehow apprehend our existence, our threat to it's life, would the spider worship us?"
"I don't know," i answered. "I don't know how a spider thinks."
The man in brown leaned upon his staff. "Considering how little humans think alike, it might be that this spider would react with fear, defiance, indifference, fatalism, or incredulity. Anything's possible." He reached out with his staff and gently caught a piece of spider silk on the wooden pole. Lifting the arachnid, he transported it over to the opposite side of the road. "Do you think the creature knows that this is a different flower?"
"I don't know."
The man in brown smiled. "That is perhaps the wisest of all answers."
Returning to his walk, he said, "You will be seeing many things soon, some of which will make little sense to you. When you do, remember one thing."
"What is that?" i asked tenatively.
"Things are not always what they seem. Remember the spider, who at this very moment may be offering prayers to me in thanks for it's sudden bounty." Pointing back with the staff at the plant, he said, " There are a great many more bugs on that one than the other."
Scratching at his beard he added, "I wonder: is the flower also offering prayers of thanks?"