Parable of the Porcupines
A favorite story given to me by one of my favorite people. *thank you, Kath*
[excerpted]:
'...people, like porcupines, congregated for warmth against winter's chill, but pricked each other severely, and this forced them to disperse into the snow. However, the cold drives them together again, and once more they leap away. At last, after many hopeful turns of huddling and dispersing, they discover that the only tolerable condition for social intercourse is keeping your distance.
They were, of course, never entirely warm, but neither were they pricked.'
Relatable? Oh, you betcha. On so many levels.
So, do I want to keep my distance? Well, to be honest here I think the question should be... how the hell do I?
How is it possible when I want the warmth. I can't kid myself. I want to feel warm and be that warm to someone special. And, I can't deny. I'm pretty much a sucker for those feel-good tingly sensations, that toe-curling sort of happiness, that sizzling dangerous heat of passion in the belly.
It's irresistable.
I don't want to have part of myself turn cold simply because I am too afraid of being pricked. But it sure makes me wonder, can a person bleed to death (figuratively) from one too many prickings?
The Idealistic Hopeful in me argues that there are times when the suffering is needed, when the all the hurt, fear and insecurity is worth it.
Because then I am appreciated. Because I want to be worth it. And, I want to know that the guy I foolishly give my heart to is indeed worthy of such blinding...trusting, foolishness.
"Men are like roses, you just have to watch out for the pricks."
Haha!
Oh, I don't know what's what anymore.
1 Musing(s):
I'd almost forgotten about the parable of the porcupine...it's so good. The last little bit of your blog (meditation? musing?) reminds me of the Billy Joel song, "And So It Goes":
"And every time I held a rose,
it seems I only felt the thorns
And so it goes, and so it goes
And so will you soon, I suppose."
A little depressing, perhaps, but it reflects my often pessimistic view of the future of my non-relationships. I've felt the warmth, and the stupid porcupine quill broke off while it was still stuck in me...so I wander around, often cold, with this damned needle always reminding me of being THAT close and THAT warm. You know? maybe I carried the metaphor too far...but anyway, I'm glad you shared your site with me. I love to read your thoughts!
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