FOLIE À DEUX

A Christian and a Muslim were fighting over the differences in their religions. There was no lack of bad feelings between the two.

The Gadfly said to them, "You think that in your beliefs you have life. But your beliefs have become a tomb over which your minds keep an anguished vigil, lest your hearts escape their graves and taste the fullness of living.  Beliefs may show us a way to nobility. But remember the bird in autumn, which follows the stars in search of a warmer climate.  The stars themselves dwell in the coldness of space. And among those stars the bird will not find the life it seeks.  Neither are your beliefs the holiness you seek, no matter how glorious they may seem to be as they shimmer in life’s sky.  Your beliefs are no more than vagrant signposts along the way, separated from the truth they point you towards.  A heart ruled by doctrine is as cold and empty as the vacuum of space.  Therefore, as your heart makes life’s journey, do not stop and cling to the road signs as if they were the destination itself.  It is an act of righteousness to pass them by, and leave them behind you.   If you would care to know truth, then open your hearts toward one another and let your beliefs stand between you no more.”