The Secret of Life

Once a young man approached a learned teacher hoping to discover the answer to the many questions that concerned him. somewhat brashly, and in a hurry to gain the ultimate in knowledge, he leaped in with his most challenging question first.
"Tell me," he demanded, "if I am to find the secret of life, where should I begin my search?"
"Once", replied the teacher compassionately,"God surrounded himself with his council of angels. He had just sat back in his heavenly throne, pleased with his creation. Beneath him lay a beautiful universe. He felt particular pleasure with the planet Earth, for there he had created life. Leaves danced in the breeze, birds chorused to the rising sun, and whales hummed an underwater harmony. The planet would go on creating and sustaining life. It was a proud achievement.
He congratulated the council of angels for their diligent assistance, then continued, "Our job is complete, save for one remaining task. We must find a place to hide the secret of life so that humans cannot abuse it."
One angel immediately came up with an idea."Let's place it on the top of the highest, most inaccessible mountain."
For a moment God pondered. "No. I foresee that humans will climb to the top of even the tallest and most inaccessible mountain. When they do then they will discover the secret of life. We must find somewhere else to hide it."
A second angel contributed, " Then let us place it at the very bottom of the sea. Surely, that will be out of their reach."
Again God contemplated."I have given humans the intelligence to create machines," he said. "I can foresee that they will create machines that will take them even to the bottom of the deepest oceans."
A third angel came up with yet another idea. "I know", he said. "Let us hide it in the humans themselves."
God was delighted. "What a great idea!They will never think to look there."

The student was a little puzzled by the story, but he was not deterred from his quest. To each new question he received not a direct answer, but yet another parable. Finally, he could contain his disappointment no longer and blurted out, "Why when I ask you a direct question, do you always reply in stories? Why not just tell me the meaning directly?"
"Once," answered the teacher in a style the young man had now come to expect, "an apple grower wished to give an apple to a young man. This was no ordinary apple. It was a very special gift for a very special person.
The apple grower had, over the years, learned his trade, observed his teachers, and developed his skills. This special apple he had grown himself. He had taken the seed and nurtured it. He had planted it in the best conditions of soil, shelter, and sunlight. He had fertilized the ground, pruned the branches, chased away the invading birds, and plucked the fruit when it reached perfection. Now he handed it to the young man, a glistening, ruby red apple with sweet, crisp flesh.

"Do you think that if he had also chewed it for the young man, the young man would have had any personal experience of the apple's qualities, or just how special the gift had been?"
!01 Healing Stories by George W. Burns