Choosing Life in our daily decisions.. What criteria are you using?

Are We Choosing Life? 

Good morning, folks! I am Jin with Morning Mindfulness Podcast. Hope you are doing wonderful today! Let’s breathe and smile.

There’s an old proverb about a peasant who saved monk’s life. The monk invited a man to his cave where he stayed. Once they got there, the monk brought three items – needle, staff and mallet – and put them in front of his savior.

“These items,” the monk said, “don’t look very attractive. However they have a magic power. The needle can heal any person from any disease. The staff can stop and defeat your enemy’s whole army. And the mallet gives you gold and silver coins every time you strike. You saved my life, now you can choose and take one item.”

The peasant did not even think. He took the needle right away.

“You took the needle,” the monk said. “Aren’t you interested in power and money?”

“I chose life,” the peasant answered. “Without it neither power nor money makes any difference. But if I bring life, I can always have both if I need them. That’s why I chose the needle. As for mallet and staff, they can bring lots of trouble.”

That’s an old tale. I think it is reflected in martial arts philosophy really well. We learn respect our opponent, and we learn how to heal. I read about quite a few great martial artists who were also practicing medicine or at least healing.

But my main point today is: how are we making our daily decisions? Are we coming from the position of power, money or life? My teacher said, don’t do anything against life, against natural flow, no matter how attractive it looks. I must admit I got confused more than once, and I had to pay for some of my mistakes. How about you, my friend?
Think about that.

Thanks for stopping by.

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PEACE!
Jin

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