April 17th, 2017

April 17th, 2017


Affirmation: I am creating a solid career that brings joy and satisfaction to me and the people I serve.

I am learning to trust my instincts and move away from unpleasant and stressful people, places, and things.


Word of the Day: hypozeuxis (n):

1. Rhetoric. the use of a series of parallel clauses, each of which has a subject and predicate, as in “I came, I saw, I conquered.”

rampike (n):

1. Chiefly Canadian. A dead tree, especially the bleached skeleton or splintered trunk of a tree killed by fire, lightning, or wind.

Bewilderment

There are many guises for intelligence.

One part of you is gliding in a high windstream,

while your more ordinary notions

take little steps and peck at the ground.

Conventional knowledge is death to our souls,

and it is not really ours. It is laid on.

Yet we keep saying we find "rest" in these "beliefs."

We must become ignorant of what we have been taught

and be instead bewildered.

Run from what is profitable and comfortable.

Distrust anyone who praises you.

Give your investment money, and the interest

on the capital, to those who are actually destitute.

Forget safety. Live where you fear to live.

Destroy your reputation. Be notorious.

I have tried prudent planning long enough.

From now on, I'll be mad.

_____

Perhaps

A story – whether it is a parable, fable, personal story, or something else – seldom contains just one lesson or moral. Thus, though I had heard the story I am about to share with you before, I was struck by the fact that the “moral” that spoke to me in this reading was different from the one that stood out to me the last time I read it. A special thanks to Marc Chernoff for sharing this story on Monday:

Once upon a time, in a small Indian village, the village fisherman accidentally dropped his favorite fishing pole into the river and was unable to retrieve it.  When his neighbors caught word of his loss, they came over and said, “That’s just bad luck!”  The fisherman replied, “Perhaps.”

The following day, the fisherman hiked a mile down the bank of the river to see if he could find his fishing pole.  He came upon a small, calm alcove in the riverbank that was loaded to the brim with salmon.  He used his older backup fishing pole to catch nearly 100 salmon, loaded them into his wagon, and brought them back to the village to barter with other villagers.  Everyone in the village was ecstatic to receive the fresh salmon.  When his neighbors caught word of his success, they came over and said, “Wow!  What great luck you have!”  The fisherman replied, “Perhaps.”

Two days later, the fisherman began hiking back towards the alcove so he could catch more salmon.  But a tenth of a mile into the hike, he tripped on a tree stump and severely sprained his ankle.  He slowly and painfully hopped back to the village to nurse his health.  When his neighbors caught word of his injury, they came over and said, “That’s just bad luck!”  The fisherman replied, “Perhaps.”

Four days went by, and although the fisherman’s ankle was slowly healing, he could not yet walk, and the village was completely out of fish to eat.  Three other villagers volunteered to go to the river to fish while the fisherman recovered.  That evening, when the three men did not return, the village sent a search party out for them only to discover that the men had been attacked and killed by a pack of wolves.  When the fisherman’s neighbors caught word of this, they came over and said, “You’re so lucky you weren’t out there fishing.  What great luck you have!”  The fisherman replied, “Perhaps.”

“A few days later…”

You can probably guess how the story continues!

This story reminded me that life is both unpredictable and constantly changing. We never really do “know” what will be coming our way or how long our present circumstances will last. Regardless of how amazing or devastating something seems right now, we cannot be certain about what it to come.

This can be scary, especially for those of us who harbor the two-pronged burdens of a) expecting/ worrying about the worst-case and b) wanting/ “needing” to control outcomes. Though it is hard for me to acknowledge in the moment, when I take a step back and think about it, I realize that this aspect of life is actually a huge relief.

I say this because it means that no matter what we are dealing with right now or how we are feeling (good, bad, or in between), it is simply part of the flow of life. Rather than trying to cling onto the good times or believe that the bad times will last forever, the best choice we can make is to swim with the flow of the river. Resisting the flow of life is like trying to resist the entire Universe – and the lack of acceptance (which doesn’t mean that we like it) of what is only leads to suffering. 

In Marc’s words, this means:

“…Quite simply, not panicking in the face of unforeseen misfortunes or losing our poise in limelight of our triumphs, but instead “doing our best with what’s in front of us and leaving the rest to the powers above us.

Truth be told, the wisest, most loving,  and well-rounded people… are undoubtedly those who have known misery, known defeat, known the heartbreak of losing something or someone they loved, and have found their way out of the depths of their own despair by making the best of bad situations.  These people have experienced many ups and downs, and have gained an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, kindness, and a deep loving wisdom.  People like this aren’t born – they develop slowly over the course of time.”

- What “moral” or lesson stood out to you in this story?

- What lessons have you had to learn multiple times in your life? Could it be that the circumstances in each case were similar to one another but that the lessons learned were different?