The Sour Grapes Buffer

The Sour Grapes Buffer

A friend told me about someone who was losing their hearing. Even though the person losing her hearing badly needed a hearing aid, they felt their hearing was “fine.” They did not realize how bad their hearing had become. The inability to cope with the truth is an example of a psychological buffer. The deaf person masks the truth of losing a sense of hearing by denying that they have lost hearing.

I must address my internal psychological buffers, like the above example, if I want to be more awake. Higher states of consciousness are shrouded by buffers. Consciousness is only possible when I can embrace the truth, the full truth.

The ancient Greek storyteller, Aesop, sheds light on this weakness in the form of a fable, The Fox and the Grapes:

Driven by hunger, a fox tried to get at some grapes upon a lofty vine. He leaped up at them with all his might repeatedly, and when he found that he could not reach them, he said on going away: “You are not yet ripe; I do not choose to eat sour grapes.”well-buffered

To buffer or cope with his inability to reach the grapes, the fox lies to himself and conveniently concludes that the grapes must not taste good. This coping mechanism hides the truth or minimally distorts the truth, creating a warped understanding of the world.

Let us take another analogy. In chemistry, a buffer is a type of water solution that is not vulnerable to a change in pH. In other words, a well buffered solution will not change its acidity (sourness) or alkalinity very easily, despite the addition of some acid or base. Similarly, a psychological buffer is a “solution” that prevents oneself from seeing the truth. Consciousness, however, needs a firm foundation of truth upon which to manifest and grow.

The Work starts when the buffers recede. The fox does not know if the grapes are sour or sweet. He only knows that he cannot reach them. What are your buffers?

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The Fox and the Grapes, Milo Winter