The Teachings of Stavros
A Parable on Action
The Teachings of Stavros
I was sitting at Stavros’ kafenio. He came by to talk. I was telling Stavros about the quest and that I was lost as to how to proceed. I shared with him my disciplines of prayer and meditation. That I was doing everything I could to center myself, to purify my soul. I explained my explorations into Buddhism, Sufism, and Mystical Christianity. I even tried mushrooms and a few other expansive medicines.
His response was predictably Stavros. In other words, unexpected.
He shared, “I was a farmer once. A pretty crappy one at that. I couldn’t grow anything. Turns out you need to plant seeds in the soil to get a harvest no matter how good the soil.” He laughed heartily. “So, I sold the farm and opened this kafenio. Here, I am the soil and the seeds come to me.” He laughed even louder.
“There is a biblical parable about this as well. I think it’s Matthew something. You know the one where the farmer scatters seed and only the seed that falls on the good soil grows into a harvest. The moral most people focus on from that one is on you becoming good soil for God’s seed, not the fact that the farmer needs better aim.” He laughed once more and then continued, “For you, my version better. More direct and to the point. Do you understand?” He paused for a moment letting that sink in. “Your problem is that you are trying to turn shit into fertilizer. You’ve done enough alchemy on your shit for now. Your field is fertile enough so to speak. You have done what you needed to do there. What you need now is the seed.”
“Are you telling me I should buy a kafenio and wait for the seed to come to me?” I asked sarcastically as if his story is more literal than parable.
“Don’t be a vlakas (Greek for stupid person)” he replied harshly and to the point. His compassion can be cutting when it needs to be. He continued, “I am old. I have had many adventures. I have a wall full of chalices that sit like trophies in my house. I have earned this. You are a young fool. You need to grab your faith and leap into the unknown. Chaos is waiting. Dance with her. Do you know any quest stories where the heroes sit and wait for the reward to come to them?” he asked and paused. I suspected that the pause is more for effect and the question rhetorical, so I said nothing. “No,” he continued, “that would be boring as hell. What kind of story is that? What kind of life is that?”
“You’re not going to find a lost promise just by sitting around cultivating your soil any further.” He pointed to the little white chapel across the way. “Faith is necessary but not the way most people see it, as a passive request to the Divine.”
“Do you know the joke about the faithful man in the flood?” he continued. I knew the story, but I wanted to hear it from Stavros. I knew that sometimes we need to hear truth so that our own bodies resonate with and feel it. This is when knowledge becomes wisdom and lives in the world. As if he knew what I was thinking he said, “Listen anyways. I like to hear myself talk.”
“This faithful man lived in a community on a flood plain. During flood season the siren sounds. There is a warning that goes out for everyone to evacuate. He is offered a space on a bus to a shelter. The faithful man declines to leave his home. He says I have faith that God will protect me.”
“The next day the water has risen, and he is on the second floor of his house. A boat comes by and he is offered an escape. Once more he declines saying that he still has faith in God.”
“On the third day, he is on the roof of his house. The whole town is underwater and the waves are coming in strong. He is the last one left. A helicopter is sent to get him out. Once more he declines. He yells that even now in this most dire of situations he has faith that God will protect him.”
“Do you know what happened next?” he asked. “What?” I replied feigning ignorance.
“The idiot died. At St. Peter’s Gate, he meets Jesus having a conversation with Peter. He interrupts and asks, “Why did you not save me? Have I not been devout? Did I not demonstrate the utmost faith?” Jesus looks at him and shrugs. Look, he says, “I sent you a bus, I sent you a boat, I even sent you a God Blessed helicopter. You still chose to do nothing.”
“Don’t be an idiot like him” he concluded and went off to minister to another patron.
Other Stories with Wisdom by Stavros:
A shout out to VerityAlways a lover of brevity who seeks to say a lot.