From The Daily Dialogue
From The Daily Dialogue
Broadcast of 11/25/98
Subject: [DailyDialogue #325] Answers to Life
"He journeyed onward, straight ahead, a long time, or a short time -- for speedily a tale is spun, but with less speed a deed is done--and finally came to a little hut; it sood in the open field, turning on chicken legs. He entered and found Baba Yaga the Bony-Legged.
"Fie, fie," she said, "the Russian smell was never heard of nor caught sight of here, but now it has come by itself. Are you here of your own free will or by compulsion, my good youth?"
"Largely of my own free will and twice as much by compulsion," replied our young hero.
-- From Robert Bly and Marion Woodman, The Maiden King
Our young hero is wise beyond his years. His answer to the Baba Yaga's question reveals that he is not so easily lured into dichotomous thinking. He gives an answer that alludes to the complexity in our motivations and actions.
Baba Yaga is pleased by our hero's answer to the question. To me, Baba Yaga is like life, our teacher. Life asks us many questions, and is prepared to reward us with answers or eat us alive, depending on the quality of our response to the questions we are asked.
In partnership we need the wisdom of our young hero to avoid the kind of thinking that first oversimplifies, then polarizes and judges.
Experiment: Dialogue with your partner about some of the wise answers that you hear her giving to the questions that life asks.
Affirmation: It's in every one of us to be wise.
The Daily Dialogue is published each day of 1998 by e-mail. Copyright 1998, Eddy Brame and Marty Crouch, All rights reserved.
