by Jane Gunn
This book is an adventure story that is in fact a powerful metaphor for ‘life transformation’ and ‘awakening’, with layers of wisdom and meanings that will appeal to every age group and every level of consciousness. For me, one of the biggest takeaways of this book, is the endless metaphors that had me asking questions of some big assumptions I have about myself and the world around me that maybe I need to reconsider and explore other possibilities, possibilities that I may initially find uncomfortable but will enable me to grow.
‘The Mole and the Mountain’ is a short story, about searching for a greater level of truth in an unpredictable and somewhat crazy world. The central character of the story is Maurice the Mole, who the author says evolved out of her role as a professional mediator, where a client once said to her that ‘Jane helps people make molehills out of mountains’.
The story of Maurice the Mole is a great reminder to the reader that the path to meaningful transformation is rarely a straight line. At the beginning of the story Maurice lives happily in the tunnels under a large old oak tree, when he starts to pay attention to his curiosity and he decides, to leave the comfort and certainty of the world he knows to explore the wider world, which involves confronting many unfamiliar situations including a ferocious storm.
Maurice’s journey is a story that will resonate with anyone who feels that strange things are going on in the wider world and wants to understand why this is, and realises that only by venturing out into uncertainty will you discover a deeper level of truth, freedom and fulfilment. Ultimately, Maurice appears to know intuitively that if he stays in the comfort of his home under the oak tree, that the things going on in the wider world would eventually, one way or another, impact his life, so he decides to take the initiative and push himself outside of his comfort zone.
For me, probably the deepest message in this story is that greater freedom, resilience and peace can only truly be learned and experienced by choosing greater ‘self-determination’. Self-determination requires allowing your curiosity to seek adventure and in doing so, accepting with courage the inevitable challenges that will be found along this journey. On this journey Maurice learns to ignore a variety of naysayers and distractors who represent the people and circumstances that tell you to ‘stay small’, ‘be quiet’ and ignore your curiosity and curtail your adventure to being a greater version of yourself.
In March this year I was privileged to be invited by Jane to the London launch of her book, which was fabulously attended and well received. At the launch, I also connected with prominent ‘peaceful freedom activist’ Dan Astin-Gregory who was so impressed by Jane’s book that he has just conducted an lovely interview with her, which you can watch on YouTube here …… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfrYzue-AU8
Jane is known professionally as ‘the barefoot mediator’ and helps teams to prevent and resolve destructive conflicts. She can be found on Linkedin and on her website www.JaneGunn
You can find out more about her book and get a copy here: https://janegunn.co.uk/mole/
