Drop your Stone

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Once I visited my Master in his mountain cottage, high above amidst lofty snow covered peaks. As usual, he had an assembly of followers and disciples around him as he sat beneath his favored Cedar canopy.

 

I greeted him silently and he smiled and bade me to take my seat near him. Soon enough a middle aged lady of stately bearing came forward and took her place in front of the Master. And she asked:

 

Master, my life is full of sadness and pain, memories of my past and deeds of present trouble me day and night without respite. What should I do?

 

Master didn’t say a word but silently picked up a round stone from the ground, perhaps few hundred grams in weight and handed it to the lady. Dear sister, he said, please hold on to this stone within your right hand fist and extend your arm straight parallel to the ground.

 

The lady followed the Master’s advice with a quizzical expression. Is the stone heavy? The master asked. Not at all. She answered. Ok, then continue holding it as you do now. The lady continued to hold the stone within her extended fist.

 

The Master shut his eyes and went back to chanting Om, as the rest of us joined him. Since I faced the crowd and the lady, I noticed that shortly the lady started grimacing in pain and discomfort and her extended hand began to lower and shake. She was finding it hard to keep holding the stone with an extended hand. The Master took no notice and continued his chanting. After a minute or so the lady couldn’t keep her hand up anymore and she reluctantly but with a visible sigh of relief lowered her hand and dropped the stone on ground. And the Master opened his eyes and looked at the lady with a smile.

 

Sister, he addressed, why did you lower your hand? I apologize, she said, but the stone was feeling too heavy and I couldn’t hold it up any longer.

 

So you see, the Master said, in the beginning you didn’t feel any weight of the stone and you could hold it up but longer you held on to it, it became heavier and painful till finally you dropped it and let it go and you again became pain free. That’s exactly what happens with your miseries and grief.

 

By itself all our worries, sadness and grief is not painful what makes them painful and intolerable is how long you hold on to them. Just like the stone that you dropped, drop them too and let them go and you will feel refreshed and energetic again. The choice is totally yours. How long you will hold on.

Picture courtesy: Photo by Sharon McCutcheon from Pexels


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