By Jimny Henderson (MA Psychology, FRC)
We are faced daily with
situations which affect us and threaten our peace of mind. Some are of a
personal nature but many relate to the nation or even the world as a whole. For
example, the high cost of living, unemployment, the spiraling crime rate,
corruption, as well as global issues such as wars and political upheavals.
Although it is important to take note of these issues, allowing your mind to continually
fill up with negative thoughts and intense emotions such as fear, rage, anger,
frustration and resentment, is not helpful to your emotional wellness and self‑development.
At this point
I wish to tell you a story, actually a parable from the East, one which
explains this principle quite well. There were once two monks. One was quite
old and the other a novice. One day, they were walking along the road and came
to the banks of a river. Here they saw a beautiful young girl waiting to cross
the river. She was a little afraid as the river was quite deep. The younger
monk turned his head away and tried to ignore the young girl, as he was
concerned that she would be a temptation to him. However, the older monk simply
gathered the young girl up on his shoulders, carried her across the river and
put her down on the other side. They then continued with their journey. After a
short while, the younger monk could bear it no longer and gently challenged the
elder on the issue. ‘Sir, we are both bound to our vows of chastity, was it
therefore not a sin to have approached and gathered up that young girl at the
river?’ The older monk looked at his novice in a puzzled manner and softly
remarked. ‘I left the young girl at the river.’ ‘I see you are still carrying
her with you’.
An
important part of emotional wellness is being able to maintain an inner
stillness, balance and control which can be usually be achieved through meditation. As in the case of the novice monk, this is not
achieved by pure will-power or by avoiding life’s important challenges, but
rather by consciously being able to let go of unwanted thoughts and emotions,
as demonstrated by the elder monk.
Jimmy is a cognitive researcher and metaphysician who is the published author of a number of books on the power of the mind. His books are available through his website www.jimmyhendersonbooks.com
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