LETTING GO (2ND PART)
The following two stories hit the target of “letting go”
right in the bullseye. Each approaches letting go from a different perspective
but both are right on point. Read them slowly and enjoy them for what they are,
stories. Do not get stuck in your ideas or beliefs of God or religion. They are
not important in this case. The clarity of the message is what is important,
and the message is very clear in both stories.
The Suitcase Story*
A man died. Once he realized he
was dead, he saw God coming closer with a suitcase in his hand.
- God said: Alright son, it is time
to go.
- Surprised, the man responded:
Now? So soon? I had a lot of plans...
- I'm sorry but it is time to go.
- What do you have in that
suitcase? the man asked.
- God answered: Your belongings,
everything you own.
- My belongings? Do you mean my
things, my clothes, my money…all my possessions?
- God answered: Those things were
not yours, they belonged to the world.
- Is it my memories…the past, my
plans, the future? the man asked.
- God answered: Those never
belonged to you either, they belonged to time.
- Is it my knowledge, my talents,
my fame, my image, my status?
- God answered: Those were never
yours, they belonged to the circumstances.
- Is it my friends and family?
- God answered: I'm sorry but they
were never yours, they belonged to the path.
- Is it my loved ones, my parents,
siblings, wife and children?
- God answered: They were never
yours, the belonged to the heart.
- Is it my body, my mind?
- God answered: Those were never
yours either, they belonged to the earth.
- Is it my soul?
- God answered: No, that is you,
not yours, and it really belongs to me.
Full of fear, the man took the
suitcase from God and opened it just to find the suitcase was empty.
- With a tear coming down his
cheek, the man said: I never had anything???
- God answered: That is correct! Only your individuality and
the lessons that came with that individuality were yours (your experiences in
life, your growth).
The Passing Through Story*
There is an old story about a famous rabbi living in Europe
who was visited one day by a man who had traveled by ship from New York to see
him. The man came to the great rabbi’s dwelling, a large house on a street in a
European city, and was directed to the rabbi’s room, which was in the attic. He
entered to find the master living in a room with a bed, a chair, and a few
books. The man had expected much more. After greetings, he asked, “Rabbi, where
are your things?” The rabbi asked in return, “Well, where are yours?” His
visitor replied, “But, Rabbi, I’m only passing through,” and the master
answered, “So am I, so am I.”
When you look around, when you spend some time rationalizing
about today’s society’s values and pressures, when you look at your own life,
you may or may not see that most people spend most of, or all of, their lives
accumulating and in the pursuit of ephemeral, trivial goals. They spend their
lives in the pursuit of individual (knowledge, fame, image, status, etc.) or
material (money, possessions, etc.) pursuits, which, at the end, are worthless
because they cannot take them with them.
The questions that we need to sincerely ask ourselves are:
How much is enough? And what for? Why is it that we continue accumulating and
accumulating all of our lives? To leave it to the children? If that is your
intention, then there is a famous phrase from Warren Buffett, a very wealthy,
successful entrepreneur in the U.S., that says: “The perfect amount to leave
children is enough money so that they would feel they could do something, but
not so much that they could do nothing.”
If you were to amass individual and material wealth to share
with the needy, for their betterment or the betterment of the environment
and/or the planet, then it would be wonderful but still would not be enough
from the existential standpoint. Why? Because life is about much more than
being a good human being, a good citizen. Being nice, good, at the service of
others or other is potentially good for your family, neighbors, community,
country, and/or the world but is not enough for life, for your life. Yes, it is
true that we should be the best we can be but we should also explore and strive
to reach our full potential as individuals. And to do that, we must break the
chains of accumulation and enhance and intensify our lives. More specifically, we must transcend
our sensorial limitations and open up the gates to our infinite Self.
But until you realize that you are completely attached and
entangled with all these things (your body, mind, emotions, possessions, persona,
etc.), it is almost impossible to open these gates. So, you have to decide. You
can change your life now or you can wait until you are dead. If you change it
now, at least, you still have plenty of time to make a difference in your life
and the lives of others. Otherwise, life is an accident, a biological
occurrence in time and space with little or no value from the existential
standpoint. There is nothing wrong with this, but is it enough for you? That’s
the question you must ask yourself. Sadhguru, a prominent mystic, visionary,
and guru said: “If you do not do what you cannot do, it is all right. But if you
do not do what you can do, your life is a tragedy.”
* Source: Internet. The Suitcase story has been modified from the original to meet better the purpose and message of these articles.
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Author: Maurice Correa
Website: pathtoone.com
Blog: p2oblog.blogspot.com
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