Many have heard the story of the great king and his search for truth but, as this evening is a cold one and I hope you are sitting at home around the fire, perhaps sipping some chai or a little sloe gin, I shall wait for you to get comfortable and then I will tell it. At least I will tell it as I think it may have happened.
Once upon a time, in a land far away to the east, there lived a wise old king. His palace was great, his court was fine and his accomplishments were many. He never wanted for anything and was constantly engaged in one entertainment or another. He was very learned and had read the great treatises and scriptures of many a land and many a faith. Though he had realised much and people far and wide thought him to be deeply wise, still he felt something was missing.
So one day he gathered together the very cleverest of his advisers and all the wise men and great sages of the land and he charged them with finding something that was always true. Something that was true when he was happy and true when he was sad, that was true in the springtime and true in the winter and that was true in his greatest victories and also in his greatest defeats. The wise men were perplexed, ‘what is that which is always true?’ they asked themselves. They each set off to the far ends of the Kingdom and then further beyond still, to many distant lands, intent on discovering this truth that the king had asked from them. They agreed to meet back at the Kingdom after one full year and tell the King what they had discovered.
All but one. He stayed in his little cottage at the edge of the woods and tended to his garden. When the villagers and courtiers passed by they said, ‘ that is the lazy wise man, he hasn’t even gone to meet with the priest in the next town, just sits in his garden watching the birds and the clouds or gazing into the trees. The King surely won’t be pleased with him.’ And so the year went on and the wise man observed how the spring turned to summer which turned to autumn and how the plants in his garden died and returned again. He saw how the birds came and went and even the great trees would pass eventually, and when they did, they would give new life to many insects and creatures.
After the year had gone by all the wise men met up in the Court ready to astound people with all the clever things they had learnt. They told tales and riddles from lands far and near, spoke words of subtlety and cunning and made every man’s head present hurt with the thinking. But the King was still not satisfied. Finally our own wise man, from the cottage by the woods, stepped forward and said to the king, ‘Sire, I have seen that which is true. It is true in my garden and true in the forest.’ At this the people laughed, ‘silly old fool’ they thought. ‘It is true throughout your Kingdom and true even to the very ends of the Earth. And it is true in my own heart.’
‘So’ said the King, ‘what is this truth of which you speak?’
The old man bent his head and spoke softly as the last leaves of Autumn drifted through the windows and on to the Palace floor. ‘And this too shall pass’ he said, then turned away and walked back to his cottage in the forest.
At last the King was satisfied.
AH! I LOVE this…thank you…My Dear Ma slipped into her longest sleep this Autumn and I have been walking and tending the Land here in my valley….when my sorrow seemed too deep to bare that is what I told myself This too shall pass…it has given me great comfort…..it is such a profound TRUTH… Blessings rom my warm cosy hearthside to yours on this blustery day x
Hi Mezaree, thank you so much for sharing this, how beautiful.
I think this wisdom is so healing because it allows pain to be present without so much attachment rather than just trying to push it away or dwell in it.
Many warm wishes and autumnal blessings xx
love this sweet Lucinda xoxoxoxox
Thanks lovely Leslie🙂 xx
What a beautiful story! I felt as though I sat at your fireside, sipping my chai and listening to you tell it🙂 It makes me miss the days of childhood, when story telling was a more regular part of life – I wish it still were! Like all good stories, my mind is engrossed with it, thinking on it and pondering again the beauty and sorrow and ultimate truth in the impermanence of all things.
Oh I so agree! A story round the fire is one of the things that make winter magical. I was going to write the story closer to the original version but as I was typing, this version of the wise man and his garden just came out. Inspiration is always best when spontaneous isn’t it. Perhaps one day we will share stories round the fire together.🙂
P.S. We’re loving Sherlock xxxx
Well I didn’t have a chai or a sloe gin but it didn’t stop me enjoying your beautiful story, there is such wisdom and truth in old tales. They gently knock at our doors and ask to be let in, we just have to remember to leave it ajar….
So true and beautifully put Henrietta. The more I read of stories the more I see how truth can be shining underneath the most unlikely tale. xx
Lovely!
Thanks Hedgewitch x
So very true! And such beautiful photos of the plants retiring for the winter. Thank you so much for this fall-time tale, perfect as I look at the people, creatures, plants, and even the sun around me turn inwards.
Hey Celia,
Thanks for stopping by, I am glad you enjoyed this little tale. The energy has really changed here in the last week especially. Everything is slowing and thickening and drawing down. it’s wonderful to observe isn’t it. x
You write so well, Lucinda. I was enthralled with your tale. I love story telling and do so quite often with my grandchildren. Trouble is, when they ask “grandma tell us the story about the cat-hat, or the witch whose nose turned into a carrot”, most of the time I’ve forgotten!! Have to start over again and make up another silly (but fun) story.
“This too shall pass.” And I thought the answer was “Love”, until you got to the wise man watching the seasons change in his garden. Then I thought it was “chi” or “spirit” or “life force”. Oh well….
Thank you Wendy! Your stories sound delightful and, being ever changing, your grandchildren will never be bored.😉
Well maybe love is the only thing that stays constant and observes all the comings and goings through awareness, (that is love in the ultimate sense rather than the conditional sense when it is one of the most liable things to change!).
Perhaps this should be the subject of another story….
How beautiful Lucinda, thanks for sharing.
Like Mezaree said, it is such a profound truth….
Blessings,
Rita
Thank you too Rita. I hope you are having a lovely Autumn so far. x
I have somewhat belatedly come across your website, such a wondrous thing it is too. And this story has made me smile. Thank you for your beautiful writing and your beautiful website.