Will You Know?

The Conscious One gazed at the group of seekers gathered before him.

He rested quietly on the smooth rock for a moment before choosing to speak.

“Let me tell you a story,” he began.

“A man walked into the company kitchen for the first time. He purposely arrived early before his presentation to management, to give himself extra time to prepare. He rooted through the cupboards and on the third try, found the coffee mugs.  He reached up, pulled one off the shelf and broke into a knowing grin—‘Aaahhh,’ he reflected inwardly, ‘time for the magic elixir.’

He then glanced around the room.  His mouth turned into a smirk.  Again and again he scanned to no avail.

No coffee maker.

‘How can this be?’ he asked himself in a quandary. ‘There can’t be coffee mugs without coffee.’

He turned repeatedly, looking everywhere and becoming increasingly frustrated.

Finally, a company employee walked in.

‘Can I help you?’ she said, sensing his exasperation.

‘Is there any coffee?’ he asked sheepishly.

‘Sure,’ she answered. ‘Let me get it for you.’

She held out her hand and he passed over the mug.

The woman walked over to the refrigerator and placed the mug under a brown box that protruded slightly off of the counter.

She pushed a button on the side and the steaming, black liquid poured out the bottom, filling the room with heady aroma.

‘Don’t worry,” she consoled. ‘You’re not the first.  It happens all the time.’

Embarrassed, the man forced a chuckle.

‘Thanks,’ he muttered and sat down at the table where he proceeded to stare into his morning cup.”

The Conscious One stopped and let his words sink in.

“What can we learn from this?” he queried the group.

“That the man just didn’t see,” said the seeker farthest to the left.

“That the coffee was there the whole time,” said the next one in.

“True, true,” agreed The Conscious One. “What else?”

“That the guy was a caffeine head,” quipped the group joker and generated a few laughs.

“And that they had a weird coffee maker,” the joker added.

The Conscious One smiled.  “Maybe, maybe not.”

Silence filled the air.

“What about this?” The Conscious One challenged. “We don’t know what we don’t know…” He paused and his eyes tightened…”Until someone show us…” He paused again.  “In an instant, the unknown becomes known, all fogginess disappears in favor of perfect clarity.  The challenge lies in knowing when to listen and who to listen to.”

Around the semi-circle, the heads bobbed in assent.

The Conscious One left them to process.

In his own mind, he voiced the collective questions.

How many filters do we each wear, filters that keep us completely in the dark, unaware and trapped?

How do we find trusted advisors who can guide us, share truths that adjust or remove these filters?

If we don’t seek them out, how will we come to know what we don’t know?

And how will we ever wake up and smell the coffee?