Raven 108: Jealous

In #102, when Woodpecker asked about equanimity, Raven said, "I'm not a very good teacher." Here, she says it again, responding to Grouse's jealousy. She's not being self-deprecating. She's demonstrating equanimity and (non)jealousy, isn't she?

Case

Grouse sought out Raven privately and said, "Sometimes I feel jealous of other students who seem to understand things so much better than I do."
Raven said, "I'm not a very good teacher."
Grouse said, "I heard you were saying that."
Raven said, "It's okay."

Verse

Jealous

I: a kludgy machine that makes and
Remakes itself from found objects --
Copies of representations of parts of
Available models.
I glue together pretty bits, and
Grease moving parts.
Neither glue nor lubricant works very well.
I'm always falling apart, or jammed, or both,
which I call learning and growth.
Chunks break off, get lost in the universe's sofa cushions,
Or left in my other pants.
Other bits get buried, scratched, bent as the parts
rearrange, or new ones are acquired.

The process depends on comparison,
which, increasingly abstract -- mostly --
Continues to drive, and bless, me.

Case by Robert Aitken; introduction and verse by Meredith Garmon

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