Perception

Rocky

Pondering my intelligence, I considered myself a pile of rocks. I started with only one rock, a mere grain of sand. As my understanding increased, my stack grew. Every time I learned something new, I added an appropriately sized rock. One day I compare it to others; I was plenty small and had much room to grow.

After much growth, I compare again. “Wow,” I thought. “I look like one of the biggest pile there is. I seem bigger than some of the legends I’ve heard of.” As I wondered how this was possible, a shadow drifts past. I look back to see what could cause this thinking “darn, there is someone bigger than me.” Well aware of my achievement, I begin to examine this boulder. I struggle for breath as I notice, “It’s all one piece.” Bending my head back looking for the top to see its measure, I tilt back so far that I fall flat on my back. This unbelievable boulder that I somehow didn’t see before disappeared behind a layer of clouds. I lie there in astonishment as I come to terms with how insignificant this great accomplishment of mine is compared to this seemingly endless boulder. The mass of clouds break and I see more. The height of this boulder goes further than anyone could possibly observe. I can only assume it never ends since I’m incapable of seeing its extent. I may well be one of the biggest piles of rock, but compared to this boulder I felt greatly humbled. If there were eyes at the top of this single rock of pure united, wisdom and understanding, they could look down at me, seeing nothing more than a speck.

Before, I wanted to keep growing in stature, trying to keep up with the growth of my competition, but now I’ve lost interest. I gaze at this infinite rock and somehow gain similarities as I observe. All the piles look at me as I am transformed and think, “How foolish and small his understanding really is. It seems he keeps loosing some of his rocks. Soon he may have only one. Our bounty of stones is far greater than any single rock since we fill more space.” They don’t affect me though. I realize now that only by becoming completely integrated can I grow to become anything like the towering boulder. Funny thing is they would agree if they saw it. I was only able to see it because I looked for it. None of the rocks, pebbles or grains of sand could have explained this. From the perspective of a pile, this makes no sense. “How can something so infinitely huge not be seen by everyone,” they would say. Well, I can’t put that in plain words. All I can say is I know it is true.