Author: SydneyHM

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Five Men and the Elephant

Once upon a time there was a town with an elephant
Visiting from another place.
Five men in the town longed to understand the elephant
But couldn’t use the eyes upon their face.
(They had severe visual impairment)

But they had an inner vision that came from other senses
Like smelling, hearing, tasting, and to touch.
They travelled to the place where the elephant was resting
And expressed that they would very much
“…like to meet her, if that’s okay.”

Ahoy Large Land Creature!
Welcome to our town!
We’re very glad to meet you
And to see
What you might be.

Man 1 said, “It’s a tree trunk.” Man 2 said, “No, a snake!”
Man 3 said, “The elephant’s a wall.”
Man 4 said, “The elephant is flat and floppy like a fan.”
Man 5 said, “You’re all
Crazy! It’s a spear!”

The caretaker smiled and expressed appreciation
For astute observations that were made.
She said, “Without using eyes you have analyzed the elephant.
And I would like to say, well-played!
And you’re all correct.”

Ahoy Large Land Creature!
Welcome to our town!
We’re very glad to meet you
And to see
What you might be.

The caretaker said, “The elephant’s legs are cylindrical
And sturdy like the trunk of a tree.
The tail at the back is thin and rather rope-like,
Or if you prefer, ‘Snakey’.
(But it’s a tail.)

“The side of the elephant is wide and tall and solid,
Like the side of a building or a wall.
The ear of the elephant is flat like a fan.
And in addition to teeth more small,
It has 2 long spear-like teeth called tusks.”

Ahoy Large Land Creature!
Welcome to our town!
We’re very glad to meet you
And to see
What you might be.

They all moved up to the front of the elephant
And something like a firehose wrapped them round
It gave each one a kiss on the cheek
Then loudly blurted out a trumpet sound!
“That’s the trunk,” said the caretaker. “It’s like a long nose!”

Then the men walked around get some new perspectives
And observed the elephant from tail to tooth.
They rememebered it’s important to listen to each other
When it comes to understanding the whole truth.
It’s a big part of consultation!

Ahoy Large Land Creature!
Welcome to our town!
We’re very glad to meet you
And to see
What you might be.

Ahoy Large Land Creature!
We’re glad you came to town!
To remind us to listen to each other
So we can see
What the truth might be.

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Unity musings

The Baha’i teachings emphasize unity as being of the utmost importance for humanity’s current stage of development.

It occurred to me today that the need for unity is cooked into our language.

Machines, humans, families, societies, and everything created involves the coming together of different parts. The simplest of conjunctions of parts is a pair – two parts together. If any two parts within the whole become disconnected, those parts need to be re-paired in order for the whole to be fully functioning again.

So the word for fixing things reminds us how healing and return to full-functioning often happens, even in a complicated creation. “Re-pairing” is needed.

Unity is what repairs the world.

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Fasting

My mind is twiggy,
A poorly pruned bush
Whose berries are tiny,
Whose old branches

Outweigh the new.
Energy flows into
Too many canes,
Resources thin at each end.

Before equinox,
When coldness still outweighs warmth,
I pull in,
Embrace dormant days.

I observe my new buds and old stems,
And new stems I don’t want to encourage,
Then remove some parts unproductive.

I want to enter spring’s tide
Aflush with new energy,
Focussed on less
To give more.

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Update and Spellplay

Spring and summer have commanded much of my time and attention, and adding to my website has gone to the wayside. Even my journals* have seen little in the way of writing other than to make lists of things I need to do or to draw sketches of features I would like to add to my yard and garden.

The project for the next couple of weeks is to finishing painting the pergola above our backyard patio and then add a clear (gray tinted, really) roof to it. September can bring rain with it, so we’re trying to finish up by the end of this month – 8 days to go!

I would like to start up my 5 of 5 practice again. I have accomplished 3 of 5 so far this morning: 5 minutes each of stretching, reading sacred writings, and praying. When I was about to begin writing in my journal, I came across a journal entry from 1/23/21 which I found amusing. It’s three jokes that use spelling in the punchline.

Is there a name for that kind of joke? It’s a form of wordplay, but I don’t know if it has a specific name, or if people even use it as a type of humor. Maybe it would be considered a type of pun, but if so, it is different, if only because it needs to be seen spelled out to be understood. Or maybe it doesn’t, and I just prefer it that way.

Anyway, here are the three examples:

Q: What do you call a long-necked animal who thinks something is funny?
A: A giraugh.

Q: What do you call a baker who arranges bouquets?
A: A flourist.

Q: What is that person from northern Spain doing lying in the sun?
A: Basque-ing.

It’s time to go water the garden and paint the porch.

*I have 2 journals going at once right now, because one fits in my purse, and because I occasionally misplace one and can then resort to the other one, if I can find it.