" HE PARABLE OF A FLY IN A HONEYCOMB
As a fly was searching for food, he spied a comb of honey in a corner. Overcome with longing, he began to buzz loudly: “Where is the noble fellow who will guide me into this honeycomb in exchange for a grain of barley? I wish to enter this hive because the bees seem so happy inside.”
Someone took the fly’s grain of barley and let the insect into the hive. When the fly got busy with the honey, his feet became stuck. He floundered about until his joints grew weak. The more he struggled, the more stuck he became. “Help!” he cried out. “This honey kills worse than poison. I gave a grain of barley to enter this hive, but now I would give two to get out.”
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Distracted heart, you’ve spent your time
in absentmindedness for an age,
following fruitless pursuits.
Where will you find another lifetime
to correct this? "

― Attar of Nishapur