Held by the Rope

There is one thing that can never be taken from you and that is your understanding. If you have a point in the Work, which is the only thing that gives understanding in a real sense, you will be able to stand the loss of many external personal things.

You remember the parable about catching hold of the rope. If you find this rope in your own way, which everyone in this Work must do, then you will be held by something quite distinct from life and its vicissitudes. This is really called having a point in the Work. Other people may fail you, disappoint you, and so on. Outer life may assume very unpleasant forms. Yet you are held by something beyond life— that is, by a new force.

Maurice Nicoll, “A Note on What You Are Based On" in Psychological Commentaries on the Teaching of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky (Vol. 1, p. 340)