The Magic Stone, A Story About Mental Blindness
Here is an old story about mental blindness that has illuminated many generations. It is said that in a distant land inhabited by wise men, there were several alchemists. One of them wanted to discover the Philosopher’s Stone. Legend has it that this stone was able to turn any metal into gold.
The alchemist did not want to get rich. He wanted to win a challenge that no one had been able to solve. So he spent his days and nights studying the mysteries of nature. Several years passed. The story of mental blindness tells us that after 13 years the alchemist achieved his goal.
He was first fascinated by his discovery. He had managed to find the Philosopher’s Stone, something no one had succeeded in doing before him. Since he had achieved his goal, he was no longer interested in stone. During a trip, without the slightest hesitation, he threw her by the side of a path. She no longer interested him. Let someone else find her!
The first step in the story about mental blindness
The news reached the ears of some inhabitants of the country. The rumor began to circulate. It spread to another distant land, where a man deeply complained of his poverty and loneliness. When he learned that the alchemist had abandoned the Philosopher’s Stone on a common path, he could no longer find sleep.
Every night he imagined what his life might be like if he managed to find the famous stone. He would no longer have any need and would no longer live in solitude. Everyone knows that rich men have a lot of friends and are appreciated by everyone around them.
The man concluded that it was the great chance of his life. Whatever the price, he was ready to seek and find the Philosopher’s Stone. Driven by this desire, he put his few personal items in a bag and began a long journey at daybreak. It took him two months to reach the land of the wise men and, when he arrived, began to look for the stone.
An arduous crossing
The man began his research in the northern part of the country. He walked all day, until he fell from fatigue. He picked up any stones he saw on the path and then rubbed them against the buckle of his steel belt. After waiting a while and if nothing happened, he continued on his way.
The crossing was really difficult. Sometimes he found hundreds of stones in one heap. The man had to try them all. Some days he couldn’t even walk a mile or two. But the story of mental blindness tells us that this man was more than determined to achieve his goal.
Days passed, then weeks and months. Without even noticing it, the man for eight years. He sometimes looked like a robot. He always did the same thing: looking at the ground, looking for stones and rubbing them one by one.
The lesson of stone
One day, as he was walking and repeating the same gestures, he felt tired. He decided to sit down to rest in the shade of a beautiful tree. Suddenly he looked at the buckle of his belt and his eyes lit up: it had turned to gold. He could not believe his eyes. He was jumping for joy and dancing shouting “I did it! I succeeded! ”.
However, he hadn’t realized when his belt buckle turned to gold. Perhaps this had happened recently. Or a long time ago. Perhaps the Philosopher’s Stone could act instantly. The point is, he ignored it. What stone had created this effect on the metal? He froze. Then he looked behind him and saw several piles of stones he had just tried. What was the miraculous stone?
He then realized that he hadn’t been paying attention to what he was doing for a long time. He performed the same tasks mechanically, being tired and without much hope. It had kept him from seeing the miracle that had happened.
He was on the right path and, at the same time, had lost his way. The story about mental blindness ends by telling us that the path that prompts us to seek happiness in an external thing is arduous and ungrateful, just like the path that is traveled without our attention.
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