It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for – and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing. It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool – for love – for your dreams – for the adventure of being alive.
Oriah Mountain Dreamer
'You must not position your pencil on the table in this fashion!', said the Egyptian. 'It affects me so deeply, causing my eyes to turn yellow'. 'Well I'm very sorry if I am causing you any discomfort', said the bee. 'Oh no, indeed it is fine!', backtracked the Egyptian. 'It is not me that I care about. It is the auditorium!' 'What auditorium?', asked the bee suspiciously, surveying the scene with his multiple eyes in awe. 'THAT auditorium', bellowed the pompous Egyptian, pointing at a smattering of strangers on the street. 'They all require pencillian harmony!'
Of course the bee had never heard of pencillian harmony before, but this scaremongering certainly propelled him out of his skin. 'I will never – touch – a pencil – ever again', he stammered. 'Oh no!', manipulated the evil Egyptian. 'It is fine, comrade! I just have concerns that everything we do affects another person or group – even when – it doesn't!' 'And what about when it doesn't?', enquired the bee. 'IT NEVER DOESN'T', the Egyptian explained, turning his chin up so that his red fez could almost drop off the back of his skull. 'What I meant to say was – when we THINK it doesn't'.
The bee shifted from one nectar-stained foot to another, and then to all six of them in turn. 'They were all very moved by that', announced the Egyptian, to which the bee nodded politely, and then glanced down at his feet. 'Well, okay Mohammed', he concluded bravely. 'I will be very careful. I won't step on anyone's toes, deliberately, or by accident'. 'Oh I'm so proud of you!', said the Egyptian warmly. 'You are responsible for the Status Quoo, always remember that'. 'STATUS QUOOOO!', shouted the bee in joyous release. And then he stopped himself. Yelling. That probably wasn't part of the Egyptian's peacekeeping agenda.
The chimpanzee was taking his dog for a walk on Great Barrier Island, you know, the dog that looks a bit like Snoopy. Just then, the dog caught sight of a fish in the water, and proceeded to plummet down into the depths of insanity. 'Insanitary waters! Insanitary waters!' yelled the chimpanzee. The dog was rabidly frothing at the mouth, eyes wide with their whites prominent, running around madly.
'I wonder who exactly is this Egyptian...inside', pondered the bee aloud. 'I think his OCD doesn't define him', said the snail, snootily. 'I never said it did', said the bee. 'I just wanted you all to know that, although his presentation is rather problematic for others, we shouldn't judge him on the basis of who he is'. 'No, your question was 'who is he really?'', acknowledged the chimp. 'And I think that is a very good question'. 'Why?', asked the snail, sleepily. 'Because', the chimp sighed, 'I think he has lost sight of himself in his quest to control everything else'.
A fairy entered the picnic zone, and encouraged each and every one of the creatures to be their true self. 'We can't go on living in fear', she said softly. 'Let's say I turned up with mud on my face, would you really mind? And would it, by any slim chance, remind you of your entitlement to your own personal freedom?' To which everyone was silent. 'Each of you will have something', she explained further. 'Something in life that pulls your heart towards it. You need to all rekindle that. And when you do, it will show others that we all come from different places in this vast universe, each of them equally beautiful. We can't lump everyone together in the same basket. We need to learn to coexist, not compromise our freedom and happiness for what we assume to be the broader good'.
The...discovered that...
'For there is no broader good', the fairy continued. 'Good is knowledge. Good is connection with the self. For we have no power, when we are not ourselves. No power, even to connect with others. For when we do not know what motivates and inspires us, how are we supposed to know the same of others?'
The...realised they loved...
'I'm not saying you should all go out and poke each other's faces with twigs. Remember guys and girls, scale is the key.' And the snail, brought out of his shell, suddenly started playing the piano, badly, but no-one appeared to notice, or care! The dog returned to his fishing expedition, running around, chasing eels and what not. 'He doesn't seem quite so mad anymore, does he?', the bee observed. 'No, not at all', amazed the chimpanzee. 'Maybe it was all inside our internal paralyzed annoia!'
Just then, the hedgehog pulled out a couple of spines and began stabbing the fox with them. 'Uh, uh!', said the fairy. 'Play nicely please!' And he stopped. 'Oops!', he said, 'I guess I just misinterpreted. But some things do affect other people.' 'And most things don't', said the fairy. 'The key is just to know which ones they are'. Just then, the Egyptian barrelled in. 'HOW IS EVERYONE SO HAPPY IN THEIR OWN WAYYYYY?' he bellowed. 'Because', explained the fairy, 'everyone finds happiness in different things. And in that, we can find harmony.
