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November 2, 2009
Number 53 |
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Greetings!
"Ki Inspiring Thoughts" is a free weekly email service provided by The Center For Humane Living. The messages are intended to be shared.
The intent of these messages is to inspire everyone to live a more peaceful and compassionate life. We strongly encourage you to forward this message to anyone you would like to inspire.
 
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"When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all of your thoughts break their bonds: your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction and you find yourself in a new, great, and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive and you discover yourself to be a greater person than you ever dreamed yourself to be."
Patanjali, Indian philosopher
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THE TRAVELER & THE BLACKSMITH
There once was a blacksmith that worked in a small village near a tall mountain. He observed day after day, week after week, many travelers that passed through his village in the direction of the mountain. Finally, one day he stopped one of the travelers and asked, "Where are you going?" to which the traveler responded, "I am going up the mountain. I am told that all the answers to life's questions and the secret to obtaining enlightenment can be found at the top of that mountain."
The blacksmith replied, "Really?" and he got rather excited. He quickly hung a sign in his door that said, "Gone," and began his assent up the mountain. At first he ran swiftly, but as the mountain got steeper his pace slowed to jog and then to a walk. Ultimately, he was only crawling up the mountain.
The traveler caught up to him and when he noticed him crawling up the trail said, "Blacksmith, is that you?" The blacksmith said, "Yes, I took your recommendation and I am traveling up the mountain to find the answers to all of life's questions."
The traveler asked him, "Do you really want to climb to the top of this mountain?" to which the blacksmith said, "Of course I do. Look at how hard I am trying. I am sweating. I am going as fast as I can." The traveler said, "Well, why then are you carrying that 50 pound sack of manure on your back?" With a surprised look on his face the blacksmith looked over his shoulder. Sure enough, there was a large backpack on his back filled clear to the rim with manure. He proceeded to take the backpack off his back and begin to examine it. The traveler said, "Get rid of it." The blacksmith had a perplexed look on his face to which the traveler screamed, "Drop it!!" To this he took the 50 pound sack of manure and threw it off the cliff. After doing so, the blacksmith felt lighter, calmer, and full of energy. He began jogging up the mountain again. He traveled a good distance, and then he started to tire. Pretty soon all the blacksmith could muster was a feeble crawl. When the traveler caught up with him again, he asked him, "Blacksmith, I thought you were going to the top of the mountain? Are you sure you really want to climb to the top of the mountain? Do you really want all of life's answers?" The blacksmith said, "Of course I do." The traveler said, "Well, why are you wearing that metal knight's helmet?" The blacksmith with a surprised look on his face said, "I don't know." He took off the metal knight's helmet and began examining it as if he had never seen it before, even though he had made it with his own hands. The traveler said, "Get rid of it." The blacksmith said, "I kind of like it." The traveler screamed at him, "Drop it! Get rid of it!" The blacksmith threw it off the edge of the mountain and at that moment, the blacksmith realized all of the answers to life's questions. He became blissfully happy and achieved enlightenment.
The proceeding story was adapted from a story told by Brian Klemmer, author of The Compassionate Samurai.
This story speaks to our hearts, minds and souls about the true meaning of life and can be interpreted in many ways. One interpretation is that the 50 pound sack of manure represents all of the resentment, resistance, hatred, mistakes and ill feelings we have had in our lives. We carry all these past experiences along with all of the holes that others have left in us. The weight of this burden weighs us down and negatively influences our outlook upon our daily lives and the manner in which we function in our interaction with others and our ability to achieve our goals. The knight's helmet represents fear; fear of the unknown, fear of succeeding, fear of failing. When we recognize the limitations that we are placing upon ourselves because of our fears, only then can we put them aside and with them any and all limitations.
We must strive to recognize and mindfully set aside all of the burdens of the past and our fears regarding the future. When we can do so and live fully in the present moment then we can achieve true happiness, reach enlightenment and achieve all of our dreams. Utilize this message as you go through your daily activities this week because as Brian Klemmer concludes from this story, "Today is the first day and the last day of the rest of your life." If today was truly the first day of your life you would not be burdened by the resentment and resistance of the past. If today was the last day of your life then you would certainly not be limited by your fear of the future. Let go of yesterday and live fearlessly today.
KAIZEN!!!!
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© 2009 Steven M. Erickson. The Center for Humane Living. All rights reserved. | |
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"If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else. It will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them."
Bruce Lee |
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Respectfully,
Steve Erickson
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The Center for Humane Living is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the personal and spiritual growth of individuals through an innovative approach to martial arts education. Our vision is to inspire all people to live peaceful and compassionate lives.
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Would you like to give feedback directly to the author?
You can send your response to Steven.Erickson@cox.net
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