Pearls
How
long
does
it
take
for the marrow inside the oyster
to roll into a ball, and harden, and become a pearl?
How
long
does
it
take
for the young fisherman
to dive deep into the ocean, take out
a hundred oysters every day and finally smile
because there is a pearl inside one of them?
How
long
does
it
take
for him to gather
the second pearl and the third pearl
and the fourth pearl and the fifth pearl
and the many-hundredth pearl?
How
long
does
it
take
for him to choose the largest
and the roundest and the shiniest pearls,
drill them, put them one by one
into a delicate silk thread, and make the
most beautiful necklace for the most beautiful neck?
And, how long does it take,
O my friend,
for that thread to break
and for all the pearls to scatter
in hundred different directions
never to meet again?
Gifts for the Master
His dream was to meet the master
and learn from him
the art of living.
But how could he go empty handed?
And, he started gathering
gifts and offerings.
After what seemed like an eternity,
he arrived at the master's gates
old, fragile and exhausted
burdened with bags and baggage,
tearful eyes and trembling hands.
As he bent down to pay his respect,
with a lump in his throat,
the master smiled
and said:
I was waiting for you!
But will you leave all that stuff out
before you come in?
