How to See Yourself Clearly

Hint: Introspection alone is not enough

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“A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small parcel.” –John Ruskin

Late one night, a blind villager was about to go home after visiting a friend.

“Please,” he said to his friend, “may I take your lantern with me?”

“Why carry a lantern?” asked his friend. “You won’t see any better with it.”

“No, perhaps not,” said the blind one. “But others will see me better and not bump into me.”

His friend gave him a bamboo lantern with a big candle inside. Off went the blind man, but before he had gone too far, a traveler bumped into him.

The blind man was furious. “Why don’t you look out? Haven’t you seen the lantern?”

“Lantern? The candle is out,” replied the traveler.

Introspection is like that lantern. It might provide light, but it doesn’t guarantee seeing yourself clearly. Or being seen.

The blind man didn’t need the light for himself. But once he relied on it, he let his awareness slip. He stopped paying attention and literally bumped into someone else.

That blind man? He’s eve…