There was once a turtle who lived in a lake with a group of fish. One day the turtle went for a walk on dry land. He was away from the lake for a few weeks. When he returned he met some of the fish.
The fish asked him, "Mister turtle, hello! How are you? We have not seen you for a few weeks. Where have you been?
The turtle said, "I was up on the land, I have been spending some time on dry land."
The fish were a little puzzled and they said, "Up on dry land? What are you talking about? What is this dry land? Is it wet?" The turtle said "No, it is not,"
"Is it cool and refreshing?" "No, it is not",
"Does it have waves and ripples?" "No, it does not have waves and ripples."
"Can you swim in it?" "No you can't"
So the fish said, "it is not wet, it is not cool, there are no waves, you can’t swim in it. So this dry land of yours must be completely non-existent, just an imaginary thing, nothing real at all."
The turtle said that "Well, may be so" and he left the fish and went for another walk on dry land.
This is a rather famous tale which I am reminded of as I was reading the 2011 Fryer Award lecture by Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson. Hatred, anxiety, misunderstanding, and denial often arise out of ignorance. In counselling terms, one might call this a lack of empathy, a lack of connection with others. This can lead to conflictual divisions of "I" vs. "You", "Us" vs. "Others", "Right" vs. "Wrong".
Fortunately life is abundant with lessons for us, given freely but often missed unless we live mindfully. One important knowledge imparted to me is that there are many sides to a person's life story. What we see or think we know can never encompass the whole person. The whole person includes much from their historical and social spheres (family, community, culture, traditions) as well as their inner life. This awareness has helped lighten my work, to be continually curious, to seek to understand, to maintain a sense of connecting.
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