The Man Who Would Not Listen.
A Pataki by Candy Dugas.
A hard head makes a soft behind.
Big Mama Wisdom.
There once was a man who would not listen,
Even though he greatly desired to be listened to.
He heard about a market that had every single thing you could ever want or need to make your life's dreams come true.
He went to that market and was astounded by all the beauty he saw.
Though he was a bit crusty,
He could feel its beauty,
Its healing powers.
From the fragrant flowers,
To the earthy vegetables and fruits,
To just the overall sacred aesthetic that made him want to take off his shoes just like the others milling around for their treasures they'd take home.
But he did not listen.
He continued to walk around with his shoes on.
Eventually,
As you might have guessed,
Because I can tell you are an astute reader,
Listener,
Or watcher,
The man who would not listen and still had his shoes on tripped over a display.
Luckily,
An attendant at the market was right there to make sure that the display did not topple over.
Do you always keep things in the way of your customers that they can easily trip over?
The man snapped as he looked down at his shoes that kept him from feeling the nuances of the ground on which he walked.
Nuances that alert feet,
That alert the brain that a display is nearby.
As the man who would not listen walked around,
The wise cat woman who owned the market knew the second that he entered the space and she'd been watching him.
She was there when he tripped over the display and she was proud of the attendant who handled the occurrence just as they'd been formed to do.
The man who would not listen walked farther,
Looking for something.
At one point,
It seemed he was walking in circles.
All of the attendants were on alert,
Aware that he could trip again at any time.
Knocking over carefully curated displays that they had spent so much time getting just right for the people who needed them.
He walked and walked,
Not seeing what he was looking for.
The grimace on his face etched deeper and deeper into his skin until finally the wise cat woman who owned the market stepped out from her observations to ask,
May I help you find something?
I've been walking all over this store and I cannot find a thing that I'm looking for.
You've got all these things and not one of them can help me.
What good is this place if I cannot find anything,
If I cannot find what I need to help me?
I was told that this was the best place in town to come to,
To find what you need to help.
I need help.
Nobody can provide what I need.
I was told you could provide anyone anything that they need.
Where is what I need?
Where is it,
Damn it?
First,
I'm gonna need you to calm down.
Do you see anyone else speaking as loudly as you are?
What does anyone else have to do with me?
The wise cat woman looked down at his feet.
You did not notice that no one else in here has shoes on their feet like you?
What do others not having on shoes have to do with me?
I'm gonna invite you to have another look around.
Walk slower this time.
Take your time to take in what you see.
I walked slow the first time.
The man who would not listen insisted as he continued to look around in circles.
He's going to knock over every damn thing in this store.
Shhh.
Wise cat woman cautioned her attendant.
Let's not interrupt his process.
It must be his and his alone.
The attendant listened,
Though she was not convinced,
And hurried back to a place to be ready to be anywhere to make sure that when he tripped again,
She would be there to make sure another display would not topple.
Everyone knew it.
The man who would not listen got his shoe caught on a string.
A string that would have gotten,
That would not have gotten caught if he were barefoot.
Wearing shoes means there were grooves on the bottom to keep him from slipping and falling.
But in this market,
There was nothing slippery,
Nothing to slip on.
Another reason he did not need shoes.
He was stuck.
His shoe caught on a string.
A string that the bottom of his foot would have easily glided over.
He tried every which way to get his shoe unstuck,
But nothing worked.
Here,
Let me cut the string for you,
Offered the wise cat woman.
But don't you need that string for something?
I do,
But we can restring it.
What's most important now is to release your foot from its grasp.
The man who would not listen began to flail his arms wildly in the air as he interrogated,
But I do not understand why you have a string for no reason in the middle of the floor.
Isn't that considered a hazard?
If you keep flailing your arms around like that,
You're going to become a hazard.
With his shoe released from the string,
The man who would not listen resumed his wild perusal of the market.
This time,
Flailing his arms in frustration,
Still not finding what he's looking for,
And sure enough,
He knocked over yet another display.
The attendant was even angrier.
As the man who would not listen worked himself into an absolute tizzy,
Going around in circles,
Flailing his arms,
He propelled himself closer and closer to the statement display of the season,
A pyramid-shaped display of marbles.
What a sight to behold!
And when the light hit it just right,
It was an irresistible attraction to get closer to.
For the man who would not listen,
Even in his tizzy,
He was no exception.
The light,
The marbles,
The way the light hit and shone through the drew him closer and closer,
Wise catwoman,
And all of the attendants knew there was nothing they could do if it all went left.
The man who would not listen may have just been destined to destroy everything in his path.
He saw the beauty and the wonder,
And he wanted more for himself,
And yet he seemed unable to stop himself from his circles,
From his flailing,
From his tizzies,
And eventually he crashed into the beauty,
And they all crashed and cracked.
Every single marble.
What was everyone to do now?
Say to.
Now,
If you'd like,
You can continue to do some inner reflection,
Some inner work from this pataki,
Which in Yoruba means parable.
You can opt in to do a short meditation,
And you can opt in to reflect further in your journal.
For the meditation,
You can choose a word or phrase that stands out to you from the pataki,
Then spend at least three uninterrupted minutes meditating on it,
And you can spend longer if you'd like.
Jot down in your journal or your device notes app,
Etc.
,
Anything that comes to you during your meditation,
And then to opt in into further journaling,
You can take your reflections and go as deep as you'd like.
Journal even more about your experience of this pataki.
What questions do you have?
What revelations or aha moments did you experience?
Feel free to share all of this with people that you think would be interested in it and or could benefit from it.
Keep yourself and your life balanced and well.
Take good care.
