(via:happinesshighlights:papercrushed)
words to live by.
(via cleverlikewhoa)
The past several days I have been walking past a man seated on Michigan Avenue. This man holds up a crisp, laminated sign that says in bold, typed letters, “HOMELESS”. It’s good to see that he takes his career so seriously.
A story of change
I apologize for not knowing the original source of this story, but it moved me and I want to share it here:
Once upon a time, a woman moved to a cave in the mountains to study with a guru. She wanted, she said, to learn everything there was to know. The guru supplied her with stacks of books and left her alone so she could study. Every morning, the guru returned to the cave to monitor the woman’s progress. In his hand, he carried a heavy wooden cane. Each morning, he asked her the same question: “Have you learned everything there is to know yet?” Each morning, her answer was the same. “No,” she said, “I haven’t.” The guru would then strike her over the head with his cane.
This scenario repeated itself for months. One day the guru entered the cave, asked the same question, and raised his cane to hit her in the same way, but the woman grabbed the cane from the guru, stopping his assault in midair.
Resolved to end the daily batterings but fearing reprisal, the woman looked up at the guru. To her surprise, the guru smiled. “Congratulations, ” he said, “you have graduated. You now know everything you need to know.”
“How’s that?” the woman asked.
“You have learned that you will never learn everything there is to know,” he replied. “And you have learned how to stop the pain.”
To begin the journey of change, we must pull on the boots of self-awareness.
Liberating concept, no?
“I do not have to control anyone, including me. And if I feel uncomfortable with what another person is doing or not doing, I can remind myself that I am powerless over this person…”
Where my thoughts come to play...
"Cento" Copyright © Andrew Brinker 2011.
