The Story of the Oyster

Namaste, Welcome to SAM-VAD (Together In Conversation), as we begin today ‘let us remember this about ‘Attention’.

Our life experience would ultimately amount to whatever we had paid attention to. Attention: is important and most of the times we are so indifferent to it. It is as fundamental as food; and we go blundering about, seeking ways to assuage the craving, instead of learning how to provide ourselves with what we need, sensibly and calmly. Once the mechanism is brought to our attention and we begin to study it, it is as if a veil has been stripped off ordinary life, and we become freer in our action and choices.

This week I bring to your attention a fable titled ‘The Oyster’ from the book titled ‘Reflections’. It is a collection of fables, aphorisms and statements that challenge the conditioned mind.

It confronts the reader with unaccustomed perspectives and ideas, in an attempt to set the mind free so as to see how things really are.

The Oyster

An oyster, lying open on the ocean bed, felt a loose pearl wash over it.

The oyster closed its shell, and the pearl fell into a rock-crevice.

After tremendous effort, the oyster managed to retrieve the pearl and placed it on a leaf just beside it.

“This bribe may prevent the oyster-catchers from taking me,” it thought, for it knew something about men who sought for pearls.

When a pearl-diver, however, was ultimately in the vicinity, his eyes were alert for oyster shells, not pearls lying about loose.

So he took the oyster, which as it happened did not contain a pearl – and the real pearl rolled away. It has not yet been rediscovered

Fable from ‘Reflections’ by Idries Shah

I am sure that you will enjoy reading this book; you can buy your copy from the following link:

Enjoy reading it with your family, friends and near and dear one’s.

Before concluding today’s episode please pay attention to these words of a Storyteller.

My stories require, at this stage, no extra commentary, imaginings, or guesswork by you, me, or anyone else. The very worst would be that of moralizing. To explain away is to forget. Thus, let the stories which you can remember do their own work by their very diversity. Familiarize yourself with them.

Namaste!