I was once an avid student of spirituality. One of the lessons taught among various spiritual practices is the need to rid oneself of attachments; things we become dependent upon that stunts our growth.
There came a time when I began to undertand the study of spituality itself was an attachment.
“All instruction is but a finger pointing to the moon; and those whose gaze is fixed upon the pointer will never see beyond. Even let him catch sight of the moon, and still he cannot see its beauty.”
I became attached to buying books. I built a library of different books that taught the same lessons in different ways. How much time does one need to study before he applies the lessons he’s supposed to have learned?
The lesson learned is illustrated by the man who helps his friend search for a lost key. They look around the streetlight for quite some time until the man asks his friend where he thinks he may have dropped the key.
“In the house”, the friend replies.
“If you dropped the key in the house, why are we looking for it outside?” the man asked with astonishment.
His friend replies, “Because the light is better under the streetlight.”
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I’m content the way I am because I recognize that what I seek I already have.