Splash
Good Morning,
When I was younger I spent many a summer staying with my grandparents. After my grandmother passed away I began spending more time with my grandfather. He was an irreverent old guy with a personality somewhere between Archie Bunker and Fred Sanford. He always had a way of getting me to pay attention and understand the lessons life was putting in front of me.
One such time that has stuck with me was on a little fishing trip to his favorite little pond. I was about 11, and he told me to throw a stone into the water. He told me to watch the circles created by the stone. Then he asked me to think of myself as that stone. You may create lots of splashes in your life but the waves that come from those splashes will disturb the peace of all your fellow creatures.
He went on to explain that I was responsible for what I put in my circle and that my circle will also touch other circles. If I create a splash that comes from anger or jealousy I send those feelings to other circles. He laid his hand on my small shoulder and said: It's your place in the world and no one is responsible except you.
That was the first time I realized each person creates the inner peace or discord that flows out into the world. We cannot create world peace if we are riddled with inner conflict, hatred, doubt, or anger. We radiate the feelings and thoughts that we hold inside, whether we speak them or not. Whatever is splashing around inside of us is spilling out into the world and creating beauty or discord with all other circles of life.
I understood my place in the world for the first time. The waves I have sent out have not always been my brightest moments, but knowing their effects has never left me. As I have grown older I am no longer a young boy trying to make the biggest splash by throwing boulders into the pond. I am content with small drops that send out the slightest ripples and create beautiful patterns when intercepted by other waves in the pond.
I now know why grandpa's fishing trips meant so much to him even if the fish weren't biting.
Have a beautiful day and carry this thought: We are responsible for the effort, not the outcome.
Peace and Love, Jim
When I was younger I spent many a summer staying with my grandparents. After my grandmother passed away I began spending more time with my grandfather. He was an irreverent old guy with a personality somewhere between Archie Bunker and Fred Sanford. He always had a way of getting me to pay attention and understand the lessons life was putting in front of me.
One such time that has stuck with me was on a little fishing trip to his favorite little pond. I was about 11, and he told me to throw a stone into the water. He told me to watch the circles created by the stone. Then he asked me to think of myself as that stone. You may create lots of splashes in your life but the waves that come from those splashes will disturb the peace of all your fellow creatures.
He went on to explain that I was responsible for what I put in my circle and that my circle will also touch other circles. If I create a splash that comes from anger or jealousy I send those feelings to other circles. He laid his hand on my small shoulder and said: It's your place in the world and no one is responsible except you.
That was the first time I realized each person creates the inner peace or discord that flows out into the world. We cannot create world peace if we are riddled with inner conflict, hatred, doubt, or anger. We radiate the feelings and thoughts that we hold inside, whether we speak them or not. Whatever is splashing around inside of us is spilling out into the world and creating beauty or discord with all other circles of life.
I understood my place in the world for the first time. The waves I have sent out have not always been my brightest moments, but knowing their effects has never left me. As I have grown older I am no longer a young boy trying to make the biggest splash by throwing boulders into the pond. I am content with small drops that send out the slightest ripples and create beautiful patterns when intercepted by other waves in the pond.
I now know why grandpa's fishing trips meant so much to him even if the fish weren't biting.
Have a beautiful day and carry this thought: We are responsible for the effort, not the outcome.
Peace and Love, Jim
Labels: Effect, Life, Love, Understanding
posted by The Daily Buddha at 7:32 AM
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