Yoga Reflections & Themes: Week of Oct.8

Story shared in class:
This passage forms from the Alchemist, Paulo Coelho  

“…The alchemist knew the legend of Narcissus, a youth who knelt daily beside a lake to comp template his own beauty. He was so fascinated by himself that, one morning, he feel into the lake and drowned. At the spot where he fell, a flower was born, which was called the narcissus.

But this was not how the author ended the story.

He said that when Narcissus dies, the goddess of the forest appeared and found the lake, which had been fresh water, transformed into the lake of tears.

‘Why do you weep?’ the goddess asked.

‘I weep for Narcissus,’ the lake replied.

‘Ah, it is no surprise that  you weep for Narcissus,’ they said, ‘for though we always pursued him in the forest, you alone could contemplate his beauty close at hand.’

‘But…was Narcissus beautiful?’ the lake asked.

‘Who better than you to know that?’ the goddess said in wonder. ‘After all it was by your banks that he knelt each day to contemplate himself.’

The lake was silent for some time. Finally, it said: ‘I weep for Narcissus but I never noticed that Narcissus was beautiful. I weep because, each time he knelt beside my banks, I could see, in the depths of his eyes, my own beauty reflected.”

Click here to view the playlist from class.