Parable of the Bee



Are you the bee who approaches a rose bush and sees only thorns? Then you will never settle on a flower long enough to taste its nectar.

Are you the bee who tiptoes past the thorn to penetrate the blossom, and drinks and drinks the nectar of devotion, and never leaves the rim of the rose's cup? Then you will cling to the Guru, but you will never make your own honey.

Are you the bee who drinks all the nectar you can, until you are perfectly wisely drunk, then staggers out of the rose to leap into the sun? You will fly home, your wings and feet so clustered with pollen you barely lift yourself. But flying strengthens you. You will turn that pollen into honey for your friends, the way a crushed grape turns itself to wine. The world will drink you. New buds spring up wherever you alight.

Now which bee does the rose love best?

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