Most people live - whether physically, intellectually or morally - in a very restricted circle of their potential being. We all have reservoirs of life to draw upon of which we do not dream.
William James
Since past few days, I have been reading The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma.
The author emphasises the importance of observing the beauty in the most ordinary things and talks about a mystical fable that contains the seven virtues for an enriched life.
The fable goes like:
Imagine, you are sitting in the middle of a magnificent, lush, green garden. This garden is filled with the most spectacular flowers you have ever seen. The environment is supremely tranquil and silent. Savor the sensual delights of this garden and feel as if you have all the time in the world to
enjoy this natural oasis. As you look around you see that in the center of this magical garden stands a towering, red lighthouse, six stories high. Suddenly, the silence of the garden is disturbed by a loud creaking as the door at the base of the lighthouse opens. Out stumbles a nine-foot-tall,
nine-hundred-pound Japanese sumo wrestler who casually wanders into the center of the garden. As this sumo wrestler starts to move around the garden, he finds a shiny gold stopwatch which someone had left behind many years earlier. He slips it on, and falls to the ground with an enormous thud. The sumo wrestler is rendered unconscious and lies there, silent and still. Just
when you think he has taken his last breath, the wrestler awakens, perhaps stirred by the fragrance of some fresh yellow roses blooming nearby. Energized, the wrestler jumps swiftly to his feet and intuitively looks to his left. He is startled at what he sees. Through the bushes at the very edge of the garden he observes a long winding path covered by millions of sparkling diamonds. Something seems to instruct the wrestler to take the path, and to his credit, he does. This path leads him down the road of everlasting joy and eternal bliss.
The author further explains that in the fable, the garden is a symbol for the mind and it is one of the seven timeless virtues for living a gratified life. If we care for our mind, if we nurture it and if we cultivate it just like a fertile, rich garden, it will blossom far beyond our expectations. But if we let the weeds take root, lasting peace of mind and deep inner harmony will always elude us.
Our life is highly influenced by the quality of our thoughts. Thoughts are paramount and little bundles of energy. The author recommends to care for our thoughts as if it being the most prized possessions. Negative thoughts or worries reduce the productivity of that twelve-pound mass sitting between our shoulders - Our Mind.
To summarize
- Cultivate the mind with the positive thoughts.
- Listen to your conscience and run your own race.
I shall be sharing more as I further progress. :)