An Old Therapy Fable

There is an old therapy fable that goes like this:

Once upon a time, a women moved into a cave in the mountains to study with a guru.  She wanted to learn everything there was to know.  The guru supplied her with stacks of books and left her alone so she could study.  Every morning the guru returned to the cave to monitor the women's progress.  In his hand, he carried a heavy wooden cane.  Each morning, he asked the same question:  "Have you learned everything there is to know yet?"  Each morning, her answer was the same.  "NO' she said, "I haven't."  The guru would hit her over the head with the cane.

This scenario persisted for months.  One day the guru entered the cave, asked the same question, heard the same answer, and raised his cane to hit her in the same way but this time the women grabbed the cane from the guru, stopping his assault in midair.

Relieved to end the daily battering, but fearful of reprisal, the woman looked at the guru, to her surprise, the guru smiled.  ...CONGRADULATIONS he said.  "You have graduated.  You now know everything you need to know.

"How is that?," the woman asked.  He just smiled.  "You have learned that you will never learn everything there is to know about life, but my child, you have learned yet one of the most valuable lessons in life ... and that is how to stop the pain."  ...author unknown