And then we zoomed out until we were hovering over an African savannah. Stuart said, “welcome to my playground”. We were watching a pack of 5 lions nap beside a herd of zebra. Neither group seemed bothered by the other. Stuart said, “Tell me why the animal kingdom does not suffer like man does.”
I observed the animals and replied “Because man is the only one with a socialization structure that teaches it to resist it’s own needs. The zebra that needs grass, goes to find grass and the lion that needs zebra goes to find zebra.”
“Yes” he said, “The zebra doesn’t waste his bloody time worrying about there being no grass and it doesn’t try to convince itself to learn how to grow grass itself or not need grass. So the zebra is not disempowered by it’s own need like the man is.”
So as to ingrain the concept further, Stuart then brought me to a watering hole in the savannah. It was dried up completely. The suggestion that water was there once was the only thing left; an imprint in the dried and cracked mud. We stood in silence looking at the absence of water. He asked me no questions this time. Instead he said to me “People keep waiting for the watering hole to fill up with water. When that doesn’t work, they keep trying to figure out how to get the watering hole to produce more water. When that doesn’t work, they keep trying to become water, so they can drink themselves. And when that doesn’t work, they decide they are not meant to have water. And so, for them, water is a need. Only the need for most people is intimate connection of companionship. And not once have they ever considered to leave the watering hole that has no water in search of one that does.”
(..)
Stuart took my hands and he said, “You have seen that it is empowering to learn that you are not powerless to other people either meeting or not meeting your needs by meeting your own needs. But now it’s time to see that there are needs that you cannot meet on your own, like the need for connection. But this need is only a need for those who think they can’t get connection. And if this is a need of yours, and you cannot meet the need yourself, the empowerment is in either manifesting someone who wants to meet the need for you or by doing as the zebra does and going to find grass.”
(Teal Swan "The Zebra and the Watering Hole")
I observed the animals and replied “Because man is the only one with a socialization structure that teaches it to resist it’s own needs. The zebra that needs grass, goes to find grass and the lion that needs zebra goes to find zebra.”
“Yes” he said, “The zebra doesn’t waste his bloody time worrying about there being no grass and it doesn’t try to convince itself to learn how to grow grass itself or not need grass. So the zebra is not disempowered by it’s own need like the man is.”
So as to ingrain the concept further, Stuart then brought me to a watering hole in the savannah. It was dried up completely. The suggestion that water was there once was the only thing left; an imprint in the dried and cracked mud. We stood in silence looking at the absence of water. He asked me no questions this time. Instead he said to me “People keep waiting for the watering hole to fill up with water. When that doesn’t work, they keep trying to figure out how to get the watering hole to produce more water. When that doesn’t work, they keep trying to become water, so they can drink themselves. And when that doesn’t work, they decide they are not meant to have water. And so, for them, water is a need. Only the need for most people is intimate connection of companionship. And not once have they ever considered to leave the watering hole that has no water in search of one that does.”
(..)
Stuart took my hands and he said, “You have seen that it is empowering to learn that you are not powerless to other people either meeting or not meeting your needs by meeting your own needs. But now it’s time to see that there are needs that you cannot meet on your own, like the need for connection. But this need is only a need for those who think they can’t get connection. And if this is a need of yours, and you cannot meet the need yourself, the empowerment is in either manifesting someone who wants to meet the need for you or by doing as the zebra does and going to find grass.”
(Teal Swan "The Zebra and the Watering Hole")
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