Are you a Spoon or a Tongue? You know, you’re really only one or the other.
Listen to this: “Does the spoon taste the soup? A fool may live all his life in the company of a master and still miss the way. The tongue tastes the soup. If you are awake in the presence of a master, one moment will show you the way.” – the Buddha. Some people start off as spoons and then one day they become a tongue. One can spend hours and hours with a great teacher and not get it, then suddenly, somehow, there’s an epiphany, and that is your moment of understanding, your breakthrough, and everything suddenly becomes clear. And you’re never the same again.
The stronger one’s conditioning, the more spoonlike we are, and it takes longer to arrive at that defining moment. So hang in there – it takes time to break through that wall of cynicism, but eventually the sunlight peeks through, the scales drop from one’s eyes, and VOILA! You GET IT. “Egad! I never realized, Fotherington! It’s as plain as the nose of your face!”
Sad thing is, when dozing in spoon mode, one could become a little jealous of those tongues out there, reveling in the revelation and raking in the old cash, “licking their chops”, as it were. One feels a little out of place, as though surrounded by dozens of Kiss fans, tongues lolling about like damn dogs, so one tends to get a little nasty, and probably flounce out and miss out on that life-giving broth. Cutting off one’s tongue to spite one’s face…. Not smart. It takes some of us a little longer, is all. Don’t give up – come on in, the soup’s great!
Be Hungry!
Actually, the Buddha hit the nail on the head when he used the word, “Awake”. You have to be awake, and I translate that as “Hungry”. If you are hungry enough, you’ll see through that veil of pessimism and doubt, and your motivation will burn through the fog of fear. A spot of faith and a dollop of trust do wonders to help the medicine go down. And nothing tastes sweeter than the realization that you can actually have all the money you want, faster, easier, and with more fun than you ever believed possible, using Joint Ventures.
So when the information is not penetrating, don’t shoot the messenger, break the mirror, or decide that you can’t do it. Just remember the old spoon and tongue analogy – a “spoon” becomes a “tongue” when it spends enough time in the soup, especially if it’s thirsty. Personally, I’m a slow learner and a slow reader. I sound each word in my mind when I read, and I need to hear things a few time before I understand the context completely, but I have learned to be patient with myself, because I know from experience that when I get it, I REALLY get it, and then I’m unstoppable. Release your inner tongue!
Now I’m peckish – tea and a ginger biscuit sounds good.
Robin J. Elliott
