Once upon a time a psychology professor walked around on a stage while teaching stress management principles to an auditorium filled with students. As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they’d be asked the typical “glass half empty or glass half full” question. Instead, with a smile on her face, the professor asked, “How heavy is this glass of water I’m holding?” Students shouted out answers ranging from eight ounces to a couple pounds.
She replied, “From my perspective, the absolute weight of this glass doesn’t matter. It all depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute or two, it’s fairly light. If I hold it for an hour straight, its weight might make my arm ache a little. If I hold it for a day straight, my arm will likely cramp up and feel completely numb and paralyzed, forcing me to drop the glass to the floor. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn’t change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it feels to me.”
As the class shook their heads in agreement, she continued, “Your stresses and worries in life are very much like this glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens. Think about them a bit longer and you begin to ache a little. Think about them all day long, and you will feel completely numb and paralyzed — incapable of doing anything else until you drop them.” -Chris Blenning (2018)
Two traveling monks reached a river where they met a young woman waiting to cross. Scared of the current, the young women asked if one of the monks could carry her across. One of the monks hesitated, but the other quickly picked her up onto his shoulders, transported her across the water, and put her down on the other bank. She thanked him and then departed.
As the monks continued on their journey, the other monk become obsessed and preoccupied with his own thoughts. Unable to hold his silence any longer he spoke out. “Brother, our spiritual training teaches us to avoid any and all contact with women, but you picked that young women up and onto your shoulders then carried her across the river, breaking this most sacred rule”
“Brother,” the second monk calmly replied, “this happened many many miles back, it was I who carried the young women and it was I who placed her down on the other side, over an hour ago. So why, brother, are you still carrying her?
🌳 🌲 The Four Trees 🌳 🌲
Once upon a time in a land not too far away, four trees started to grow on top of a small hill. Three of the trees are very selfish, arrogant and proud trees always boasting how big and tall they will become, teasing each other how they will live forever. The fourth tree is all happy and content, just to be a tree.
As time passes the three proud and selfish trees spend all their days growing as tall and impressive as they can, boasting each and every day how wonderful they will be. The fourth tree just listens and is all happy and content, just to be a tree.
Many years pass and the three trees all look impressive and have grown straight and tall, but they have grown ever more arrogant, selfish and proud, boasting and teasing constantly how they are better than the other and how surly they will now live forever. The fourth tree isn’t the best looking or the tallest but is all happy and content, just to be a tree.
The woodcutter comes along and cuts the three proud, arrogant trees down to the ground. The first tree is made into the City Gates the second tree a Great Warship and the third tree into a Great Place of Worship. Each of the three trees is proud and happy of their new position in society, boasting that they are better than the other and how they really will live forever. The fourth tree is all happy and content, just to be a tree.
A great army comes to attack, the City Gates are destroyed, the great Warship is sunk in the harbour and the Great Place of Worship burnt to the ground. Only the fourth tree survives growing on the hill all happy and content, just to be a tree.
The fourth tree knows that it can not live forever. That the day must come when the fourth tree will too pass away, But not before it sets seed to Four little Trees growing on that hill, all Happy and Content, Just To Be a tree! -Dhamma Tapasa