When an archer is shooting for nothing
He has all his skills
If he shoots for a brass buckle
He is already nervous
If he shoots for a prize of gold
He goes blind
Or sees two targets
It is out of his mind!
His skill has not changed
But the prize divides him
He cares
He thinks more of winning
Than of shooting
And the need to win drains him of his power.
[by Chuang Tzu]
A man who lived in Turkey was told of a great master who lived in Persia. Without hesitation, he sold all of his belongings, said good-bye to his family and went off in search of wisdom.
After several years of wandering, he found the hut where the great master lived. With fear and respect, he knocked on his door. The great master appeared. “I am from Turkey,” the man said. “I have come all this way to ask you just one question.” The old man was surprised, but said, “Fine. You may ask me one question.”
“I want to be clear about what it is that I am asking. May I say it in Turkish?” “Yes,” said the wise man. “And I have already answered your only question. “If there is anything else you want to know, ask your heart. It will provide you with the answer.” And he closed the door.
(source: Maketub by Paulo Coelho)
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One winter’s evening whilst gathered round a blazing camp fire, an old Sioux Indian chief told his grandson about the inner struggle that goes on inside people.
“You see” said the old man, “this inner struggle is like two wolves fighting each other. One is evil, full of anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, deceit, false pride, superiority, and ego”.
“The other one,” he continued, poking the fire with a stick so that the fire crackled, sending the flames clawing at the night sky, “is good, full of joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith”.
For a few minutes his grandson pondered his grandfather’s words and then asked, “So which wolf wins, grandfather?”
“Well”, said the wise old chief, his lined face breaking into a wry smile, “The one you feed!”
[author unknown]
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A man spoke with the Lord about heaven and hell. The Lord said to the man, “Come, I will show you hell.” They entered a room where a group of people sat around a huge pot of stew. Everyone was famished, desperate and starving. Each held a spoon that reached the pot, but each spoon had a handle so much longer than their own arm that it could not be used to get the stew into their own mouths. The suffering was terrible.
“Come, now I will show you heaven,” the Lord said after a while. They entered another room, identical to the first – the pot of stew, the group of people, the same long-handled spoons. But there everyone was happy and well-nourished. “I don’t understand,” said the man. “Why are they happy here when they were miserable in the other room and everything was the same?”
The Lord smiled. “Ah, it is simple,” he said. “Here they have learned to feed each other.”
[by Ann Landers]
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Two young boys were as different as could be when it came to their outlook on life. One little boy was always pessimistic, never thinking anything good was going to happen. His brother had the exact opposite view, always positive, always looking on the bright side.
One day their father decided to put them to the test. The pessimistic son came into the family room one morning and found every possible gift he could have asked for. As he opened each one he would make remarks such as, “this is great, but it’ll probably just break.”
Where his brother’s pile of gifts should be there was only a pile of manure. Their father was mystified when the optimistic son saw the manure and a wide grin broke out on his face. Before he could ask why he was smiling, the boy started darting around the house. He flew outside, circling the house on the run.
When their father was finally able to catch the boy he stopped him and asked, “Why are you running around? What are you looking for?” The boy explained, “With a pile of manure like that there’s bound to be a pony around here somewhere!”
[author unknown]
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A woman was waiting at an airport one night,
With several long hours before her flight.
She hunted for a book in the airport shop,
Bought a bag of cookies and found a place to drop.
She was engrossed in her book, but happened to see,
That the man beside her, as bold as could be,
Grabbed a cookie or two from the bag between,
Which she tried to ignore, to avoid a scene.
She read, munched cookies, and watched the clock,
As the gutsy “cookie thief” diminished her stock.
She was getting more irritated as the minutes ticked by,
Thinking, “If I wasn’t so nice, I’d blacken his eye!”
With each cookie she took, he took one too.
When only one was left, she wondered what he’d do.
With a smile on his face and a nervous laugh,
He took the last cookie and broke it in half.
He offered her half, as he ate the other.
She snatched it from him and thought, “Oh brother,
This guy has some nerve, and he’s also rude,
Why, he didn’t even show any gratitude!”
She had never known when she has been so galled,
And sighed with relief when her flight was called.
She gathered her belongings and headed for the gate,
Refusing to look back at the “thieving ingrate.”
She boarded the plane and sank in her seat,
Then sought her book, which was almost complete.
As she reached in her baggage, she gasped with surprise:
There was her bag of cookies in front of her eyes!
“If mine are here,” she moaned with despair,
“Then the others were his and he tried to share!”
Too late to apologize, she realized with grief,
That she was the rude one, the ingrate, the thief!
[by Valerie Cox]
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17-year old Jason McElwain, at a young age diagnosed with autism, doesn’t make the high school basketball team, but coach Jim Johnson appoints him as team manager. For the team’s last home game of the season, with his team having a comfortable lead and four minutes on the clock, Jason gets his shot – and he is “hot as a pistol”. Awesome!
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