The Story Of Pinocchio And The Spiritual Journey
Once again, allow me to share my understanding of the spiritual journey thus far. Using the tale of Pinocchio, let’s dive into the story with a blend of my own imagination to turn the story into food for thought.
So, once upon a time (that’s how stories always begin), there was a carpenter by the name of Geppetto. He was a good man, kind and generous and with simple needs. But as time went along, he felt something missing in his life. Yes, he was getting on in years but there was an unfulfilled feeling within him. Before death gained control of his ailing body, he would like to fill the void within. `Maybe, I need someone to keep me company,’ he thought. `Why don’t I make a little boy out of the remaining wooden pieces that I have? That may be the answer.’ So he started sawing, hammering, knocking and assembling the wooden parts to make a boy. It turned out to be a masterpiece but it was useless. There was no life in the boy. The empty filling in him grew even more. He prayed fervently and a fairy, seeing how kind he was, transformed the puppet to life. Geppeto named him Pinocchio. Hooray! Pinocchio could talk, walk, run and do everything like any other boy. Geppeto was overjoyed with his newfound company and so-called son. He seemed to regain vitality of life and his health improved.
A few years later, he decided to send Pinocchio to school. Instead of emulating the good qualities of his father, he started to tell lies and keep bad company like with the Cat and the Fox. Even his kind friend, the Cricket, could not advise him against indulging in lying, stealing and misbehaving in school. Geppetto was heartbroken. Instead of giving him joy, Pinocchio was causing him untold misery and immense heartache. Geppeto had no choice but to seek help. He went from fortune teller to great masters to find a solution to bring some sanity to his wayward son again. He was worried that if his son continued with his misdeeds, he would soon engage in more serious vices.
After much frustration, Geppetto gave up trying. No one could help him for they told him that everything was fated. `Accept the inevitable and be at peace with yourself,’ a wise master counselled him. Geppetto had never felt such intense grief before in his life. As weeks dragged on, he was stricken with unbearable mental anguish and a dying body. It was at his eleventh hour when he heard a voice. `Hello Geppeto! Surrender!’ Geppetto felt a moment of silence upon hearing the voice. Strangely, he trusted the voice for a reason unknown to him. The surrender happened spontaneously. His mind was quiet and all the overwhelming emotions disappeared immediately.
The next moment, it was as if another world had opened up to Geppetto. There was perfect bliss within him and what he thought he had lost was found. The answer was within him. Pinocchio, the come-alive puppet, broke apart and lay as raw pieces of wood on his work bench. All around, there was a serenity which he had never felt before. What he thought was real was but a creation of his imagination and skill. Grace had visited Geppetto at the last hour before death came knocking on his door. He had found the missing piece of the jigsaw puzzle that solved the mystery of life. He thanked Pinocchio for the lesson he needed to learn before he made his final exit from life.
This is not just a fairy tale but something for us to ponder about. How often life becomes unbearable and we think it is the outside world and situations that are causing us suffering? If the story strikes you deeply, it may be Grace calling you to turn within to find the answer. Whatever that happens in life, be it difficult or unpleasant situations or people, do they appear as lessons for us to learn or are they there to antagonize us? It is in the eye of the storm that the truth opens up. Are we willing to face it head on and not believe the stories told by our mind? Are we willing to surrender and not trust the ego’s voice that says, `It’s useless, give up. Walk away, run before it is too late.’ If we have the courage to do that, we will find something that only the heart can understand. No book or teacher can tell us what cannot be expressed in words. The answer is within.
In grace,
Guit Yeng
on behalf of The WISE Team
Newsletter 30 March 2021