It’s normal for each human being to think she or he is the centre of the universe. In a way it’s true. As soccer’s great philosopher Mario Balotelli’s t-shirt famously stated: “Why always me?” When we’re completely stuck in a bad situation it’s easy to think we’re carrying the world’s weight on our shoulders. No one feels our pain as we do. Stories can offer a wonderful antidote to stuckness. A reminder to step back and take a balcony view. Recognise that although we are each utterly magnificent in our own unique way, we are also utterly insignificant in the great scheme of things as this story suggests …
A young monk approached the abbot. “Master, please help me. My meditation is terrible. I can’t sit still, I can’t concentrate, thoughts of other things distract me all the time. I feel a complete failure.”
“Be calm. It will pass.”
A month later the young monk once more approached the abbot. “Master, thank you for your wisdom. Now my meditation is wonderful. I can sit for hours. Nothing distracts me. I feel as if I am as one with the Buddha.”
“Be calm. It will pass.”
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