Long time
ago, several brave and courageous men who lived far from the ocean decided to
see what the ocean was like. They asked wise elders how to get there and
embarked on their journey immediately. They traveled for a long time until they
finally arrived at the ocean shore. “It looks as if the ocean is like a vast
field!” the first brave explorer exclaimed. “It seems to me that the ocean is
like a boundless forest!” the second traveler yelled in amazement. “In my
opinion, the ocean is like a huge desert!” the third voyager claimed. A
fisherman was walking past them and heard their argument. “Don’t argue on the
shore: dive into the water, and you’ll see what the ocean is like.” The
travelers followed the fisherman’s advice. Soon, they came out of the water and
took a deep breath. “Now, what do you think the ocean is like?” the fisherman
asked with a smile. The explorers looked at one another and said, “We don’t
know what it’s like. All we know is that it’s very salty.”
An old
monk once said, “Never let your reasoning confuse you: get to know God
firsthand.”
By Monk Symeon the Athonite
Translated
by the Catalog of Good Deeds
CONVERSATION