Stories
So a lot of the time when I am reflecting on the events and experiences of life I end up relating them to a variety of stories and sayings that drifted through my world and resonated with me. I might have shared them before, but that is exactly the point. These are things that stay close to the surface of my being and help me through all the wild challenges that life likes to throw us. Oh and they are def not word for word, its the meaning, not the definition that i see in them.
The first is the story about the monk and the tyrant. Their was a small villiage with a local monastary and one day the regions worst general came through. He and his armies move through the villiage dispatching any one that did not run away. When he thinks the raid is won, one of his men approaches to tell him that everyone is either gone or dead, except for one monk who sits still in the center of the monastary. The ruthless tyrant amused by the monks actions walks himself straight to the monk. As he looks down on the monk, he laughs at how stupid this man must be. He then looks down at the defenless monk and says, “why have you not run, why would you stay, dont you know who I am? I could take this sword, run it straight through your body and I wont even bat an eye.”. The monk, still in his space, looks up (I imagine with a little smirk :D) and he says “Ahhh but sir, dont you know who I am? I could have YOU take YOUR sword and run it straight through MY body, and I wont even bat an eye”.
As the story goes, the tyrant was so humbled by the strength of the monk that he left the monk, pulled his armies and retreated into the woods to reflect on what he learned. You see it didnt matter how scary he was, how rutheless, how powerful or violent he was. When he heard those words from that monk, he realized, non of what he thought was strangth and power meant anything at all when faced with true presence.
The next is one of being cared for by things that we often overlook. Reminders too see things at play that most overlook or have learned to ignore. Not only for survival, but for inner freedom.
“Watch the Lilly as it grows, it neither spins nor twists.”
To me its shows two things, one, how life itself is provided for. The sun shnies, the rain comes, the soil holds her roots and even though she has no explenation for any of it, she is given what is needed to grow. Does she worry, does she stress, does she fight or struggle? No, she allows what is meant to be, and the space to grow is open. Which then leads to the second part, that life dances wonderful things around us all the time to show us we are where we are meant to be. They are often small, often subtle, often easily ignored by those who refuse to see. But life is always showing us beauty, clarity, the sun, the rain, peace….we just have to let it in. Oh which reminds me of another quote lol too many “If the Tao (often regarded as the subtle essence of the universe) is seen by normal men, they laugh and dismiss it away. If it is seen by a smart man, it is contemplated and encouraged, but if it is seen by one with integrity, he istantly recognizes truth and embodies it fully.” Contant reminders of true strength all around us, always.
Which ties into another quote that I love “Do not struggle for your challenges, but what could more possibly suite your needs than what is happening right now”. Again, hinting at the fact that we, even if you break it down phychologically, make constant decisions and moves throughout our day, and all of these things, concious or not, shape our world. But if that is the case, then our inner beings have been crafting our current situation long before we found ourselves here. Weave it in with the others and it shines a light onto a story that we all create and are guided through. Our inner being learns us through the world, and the world reflect back at us exactly what it should. And with that, it hands us every tool we need to get through it at the same time. Just sometimes, we never used that tool before XD
MOAR XD
This one always cracks me up. Their is a man in the jungle being chased by a tiger, as he runs for his lift he falls dramatically into a spike pit. Luckily, he grabs a root on his way down. With the tiger above and the spikes below he thinks things could not possibly get any worse. Just as he does and poisonous snake begins to crawl down the root. He then screams for help, only too look up and see that all the commotion has startled a bee hive up above. The bees begin to rattle and he takes a look at his situation. The tiger, the spikes, the snake, the bees and no solution in sight. Just at that moment a drop of honey fall from the hive and the man leans out, sticks out his tongue and…. “Mmmmmmm, so sweet”. It just reminds me how often the world can be in chaos, how much danger and horror can be all around us with no clear way out. But even then, even when we are surrounded, their is always something to remind us of the sweetness of life. You cant always do something about tigers, but they cant do anything to stop you from enjoying the deliciousness of that honey.
Ok ok ok, now my brain is finding all of them lol im gonna get stuck here forever hahaha. Last one for today, extra nerdy. Frodo: I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.
Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.
This one comes up when I am burried in difficulty, wishing for an easy solution, wishing I had a way out or could just undo what had happened. And it reminds me of the strangth we carry, and the struggles we face. Yes, we all want life to go perfectly smooth all the time, we dont want the pain, we dont want the hurt, we dont want what is in front of us. But when we accept it, when we think from a larger perspective, when we open to what might be instead of what it looks like, then we regain our power to choose. And it also reminds me that sometimes thier are others right next to us, helping us walk through the burdens we must face. And other times their are those we dont even see fighting for us, even if we cannot watch their feet. We may feel alone when our eyes are only focused on the challenge, but if we look wider, open more, then maybe we will see the entire world is supporting us, no matter the challenges ahead.
Anyway…. yeah, just some stories I like to tell myself when things dont fit the nice boxes every likes to pretend things go. Not because the make immediate changes, not because they force things to happen or make me some kind of instant problem solver. But because they help me shift my perspective and see what I might not see if I stay lost in reaction. And more so, once you see, you then have a choice, having the choice is whats important, that is your power. Not because its dramatic or impactful instantly, but because if we begin to choose with conciousness and awareness, then our life aligns with that space, instead of those created with the unconcious mind. Tataaaaa XD
