Dervish ‘Abdullah lay lazily in a hammock under a flowery ceiling of beautiful white wisteria above him. Enjoying the sun, he marveled at the beauty of the flowers. He was grateful for their beauty.

Then he realized that maybe the flowers weren’t there just to be looked at and admired by him. This thought came into him, because he became aware of subtle movements above him. He shook his head and broke free from the pleasant hypnosis of the flowery beauty.

He looked deeper, more attentively at the many flowers. Suddenly he saw a bee emerge from one flower and fly to another flower. And another bee, and another bee. The dervish saw many bees flying, buzzing, among the flowers. Not one or two, but dozens. All busy collecting nectar for their children in their hives.

‘Abdullah saw this previously hidden world because he managed to see beyond the sensory beauty of the flowers. He learned what to draw his attention to so that he could see further than only the flowers. Now he could see the flowers, but he could also shift his perception so that he could see the subtle movements of the many bees between, and in, the flowers.

The dervish realized that although he had been given the gift of sight to see the beauty of the flowers, their beauty was really for the benefit of the bees.

Dervish ‘Abdullah, lying in his hammock, realized that beyond the visible reality around him there was a deeper reality. The visible reality was there for him to admire and to cherish. But the actual reason of the existence of the visible reality was for the benefit and expression of a deeper reality behind it, around it and in it.