Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear.--Mark Twain
Sunrise Paddling on the North Canadian River
by FreeWine
Mitch Wallis presents Anatomy of a Heart at Vision Cafe
Recent scientific discoveries suggest that these age-old beliefs may not just be metaphysical. Some psychologists no longer believe that emotions were purely mental ...
We see things not as they are, but as we are. --Attributed to the Talmud, H. M. Tomlinson, Anais Nin, and Kant
What will you find here?
An old man sat--peacefully reading and looking off into the sunrise--on a large stone in the fork of a main road and that leading into a small village. Early morning, a heavily laden cart approached the fork in the road. A family with all their possessions stacked high pulled along side of the rock and stopped, obviously considering whether to go on down the main road or take the path to the village, making it their new home.
“Pardon me, kind sir,” the father, holding the reins to the oxen, spoke gently. “May I trouble you to ask if you know what kind of people live in this village?”
The old fellow slowly looked up and smiled. “May I ask what kind of people lived in the village you have come from?” he said.
“Oh, they were kind, generous folk, with good hearts,” the father of the family replied as his face showed joy of thinking of the neighbors they had left behind. “We would be there still, except I hope to find a place where I can acquire land of my own, to care for and on which I can raise our food, until I pass it down to my children.”
The man on the rock smiled and contemplated the father’s answer for a moment.
“I believe you will find the people here to be of the same nature as those in the village that you left. They too can be kind, generous folk, with good hearts. Welcome home.”
There was a soft exclamation of joy by the children, and the father thanked the old man, turning his oxen toward the village.
A bit later, the scene repeated, another family seeking sanctuary, their cart stacked high with all their possessions. Again the father drove the oxen, his wife sat beside him and the children clung tightly to their parents’ backs.
“Old man!” the father shouted abruptly. “What kind of people live in this village?”
The old gentleman slowly looked up and smiled. “May I ask what kind of people lived in the village you have come from?” he said.
“Oh, they were mean spirited, hateful, stingy people who did nothing except for their own benefit. We could not wait to put that cursed place behind us. We are on the road to find a place very unlike that from which we came.”
The man on the rock smiled and contemplated the father’s answer for a moment. What the young fellow expressed caused the old man pain and sympathy. A tear rolled down his cheek.
“I am sorry to have to say that you will find the people here to be of the same nature as those in the village that you left. They can be spirited, hateful, stingy people who did nothing except for their own benefit. This village will not prove to be the solution that you seek.”
The father grunted angrily and slapped the reins hard on the backs of the oxen, causing the cart to lunge forward down the main road.
Many thanks to those featured today, for the work they do to better our world!!!!
Our focus dictates what we see, which reinforces our focus, further confining the possibility of what we will see.
May you be blessed by these offerings reminding us of the beauty, wonder, and sacredness in the world around us and within us.
Celebrate yourself!
Be a part of the expression of celebration. Submit your submission (containing text, image, video, and audio, poetry, quotes, etc.) anytime for the daily installments of CelebraZine, a 'running blog carnival' of What's Right in the World.
Note: Even if you are not the blogger of the work you'd like to suggest, but have noticed someone's work that you think should be included in a Celebration of What's Right in the World,--empowering people and spirit--please point out the work to us.
Blessings, dear ones,
CG
C.G. Walters primarily writes fiction that focuses on the multidimensionality of our loves and our lives. Autographed/signed copies of his current novel, Sacred Vow, are available from the author– or purchase from Amazon as ebook, paperback
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4 comments:
What will you find here?
While listening to a tape of a Dr. Wayne Dyer book, I heard him tell a very similar story. Clearly not his creation, just him passing along some old wisdom. I LOVED the story and have shared it often.
It reminds me where I need to keep my focus. ;)
xo xo
Deb-n-Ohio
Thank you, Deb, for being here, and for being who you are...
love and blessings,
CG
CG,
I've heard this story a few times before, and every time I hear it, I am glad. It is so true that the world outside us is a reflection of the world inside us. Thanks for sharing this.
thank you, Daphne. Something recently made me want to remind myself of this old story. Each time I remember it, it gives me joy.
blessings to you and yours,
CG
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