Part III The Creation Of the Bowl

Part III

Once upon a time one of Lucy’s cat family called in for a visit. Lucy asked if she would like to come shopping with her to buy a bowl. They found a round bowl, it was perfect and it came in a box. When Lucy took the bowl out of the box she didn't need the box anymore and threw it away, much like the caterpillar who one day will no longer need his cocoon.

Manufacturers only depict the bowl's potential as a vase

Accessories not included

So Lucy had an empty bowl. She looked into the bowl and saw that it was full of emptiness. She looked harder and saw that in the emptiness she could see so much potential.

The bowls potential overflows

So she called her cat friend, whose name was Deb, and they went out to do some more shopping. They came home with clear glass beads, some water weeds and the most miraculous fish. They put water in the bowl, planted the weed, added some magic rocks and voila! They had created a home for David. All of a sudden the bowl wasn't empty anymore; it had filled up with humour! (Don’t forget that the fish is a representation of absurdity). They had also bought two snails to keep the bowl clean – that’s what bottom feeders do, they live on slime and algae. Strangely enough when Lucy looked into the bowl that night she found a baby snail, no bigger than the head of a pin. It is growing bigger now; it is nearly as big as the head of ten pins! (Or at least 9, in case you hadn't noticed, the author can be prone to exaggeration).

So there is this fish swimming around in emptiness being the creator of its own potential. But because it is just a fish it doesn't realize that it is the creator of it’s own potential. Wow, just imagine if David suddenly saw the light, like the little girl had when her security blanket went away, there would be no knowing what the fish could do! It’s quite possible it could take over the world with its humour, then we would have on our hands a megalomaniacal, funny, loyal, self-centered fish bursting with charisma. Good thing he is just a fish without self-awareness and an attention span of 3 seconds.

The fish bowl filled with its potential

But because Lucy loved the fish, she had faith in its potential. She could see the potential inside the bowl, in fact the potential had been there all along waiting for her to take it out of the box. She could also see how important the bowl was so it could carry around the water and weeds and snails and magic rocks. Without the bowl, David would be a fish-out-of-water.

Clarification:

In this chapter the bowl has become the body of ego, the appearance of David’s home is essential to the appearance of his happiness. The bowl needs to exist to carry around the potential. How would David be able to go to the shops and enjoy a cup of Chai tea without his Bowl? He wouldn't because he only drinks water.

It has been taught by great sages that getting rid of ego is essential to obtaining enlightenment, but I think that that the secret is not to get rid of ego but to train it to love your true-self then it will always serve you well. Of course a great sage would never begin a sentence with the words "I think" as thinking is surpassed once one obtains enlightenment. Strangely enough I think thinking is a great gift.

There has been some concern expressed about the availability of milk for the cat and even about the existence of the cat and even about the number of cats filling this story. Go back to part 2 of part II and you will see the addition of the name of Cat. Her name is now Puss and the name of the cat who went shopping with Lucy is Deb.

The baby snail is under threat of having his true identity revealed as a bottom feeder with incomparable farting abilities who also enjoys eating SpongeBob Lollies, so beware little snail.

This shows you the potential fate of fish without the luxury of a bowl

End of Part III