The shell of a seed protects its kernel 
So that it may have an opportunity to gestate and grow ... 

So too thoughts need to gestate and grow ... 

In this manner we can perhaps create and shape 
An inner world of depth and texture 
Arising from a struggle to acquire real understanding ... 
To truly expand and deepen the boundaries of knowledge ... 
To perceive not just form ...
But meaning ...
Inner content ...

We become the sculptor rather than the sculpture ... 
The shaper rather than the shaped ...
Creating and modifying our own internal configuration 
Rather than allowing the external world to impose a configuration on us ...

Then there arises some possibility of acting in the 
Dim
Strife 
And apparent chaos of the external world 
With a measure of thoughtfulness and depth ... 
With a considered consciousness devoid of haste and maladroitness ... 

Unruffled
Collected
We can perhaps bring inner resources (nurtured to capacity) 
To bear on the complexity of life 
And bring a level of steadiness to the self 
And thereby possible benefit to others


“There is no worthwhile movement (or action) whatsoever 
But that you need understanding for it” - (Imam Ali)