Life is a Box of Chocolate

An Unhappy Wave

“I am upset,” a small wave complained as it was ebbing and flowing towards the shore, “Some waves are huge and tall, but I am small and short. It is so unfair! I am born an unlucky one.”

“Look inward,” a wave ahead piped in, “you are more than you think. Once you understand who you truly are, you will be happy again.”

“Am I not a wave? Who am I then?”

“Wave is your temporary form. You are water,” answered the wave before it took a playful plunge into the ocean and was carried back up. “Once you realize the water within you, you shall no longer be restricted by your perspective as a wave.”

The small wave replied, “I see. I am part of you. You are part of me. We are both part of ONE.”

B: I once saw a small tree branch growing out of a rock crack. Its root was hidden beneath the giant rock, and the branch inched its way out of the narrow crack. I remember thinking to myself how unfair it is. Looking around me on the hiking trail, trees without rocks lying right on top of them can grow as high as they can without limitations. The little branch had to endure much difficulty as it grew, and would probably never grow as tall as others. Amidst silence, it suddenly taught me something and the image has since been stuck in my head. It taught me that nature only accepts and grows.

I think all great human beings in history have learned to accept rather than to blame, especially those who have overcome great difficulties or limitations, whether it is B.K.S. Iyengar or Helen Keller. Iyengar accepted his body as it was, and was able to focus on his own slow but growing progress, even after his doctor had given up on his health and his guru on his practice. By working with his difficult body as it was, he leveraged his unique strength of intelligence and creativity to the extreme, and became a legendary healer who could engineer on and transform other people’s bodies using yoga. Similarly, as Helen Keller’s yearning for speaking had overcome her frustration at the inability to see and hear, she learned to work with her touch while cultivating a significant amount of patience and inner strength to stay focused.

Whenever people accept the hardship as it is, there are always options to grow – to develop more strength and focus, to figure out smarter strategies, or to gain more wisdom. For me, this undying quest for growth is the oneness which connects us all, the unlimited manifesting itself through physical limitations.

I like the movie Forrest Gump because it showed the wisdom of acceptance throughout the story. Forrest’s mom had never blamed him on his intellectual disadvantage, or “stupidity”, but taught him to always make the best of any situation. That’s what he did. Their final dialogue is below:

Forrest: What’s the matter, mama?

Mom: I am dying, Forrest,

Forrest: Why are you dying, mama?

Mom: It’s my time. It’s just my time. Oh well, don’t you be afraid, sweet heart. Death is just a part of life, something we are all destined to do. I didn’t know, but I was destined to be your mama. I did the best I could.

Forrest: You did good.

Mom: Well, I happen to believe you make your own destiny. You have to do the best with what God gave you.

Forrest: What’s my destiny, mama?

Mom: You’re gonna have to figure that out for yourself, sweet boy. Life is a box of chocolate, you never know what you are gonna get.

B: See how I apply this wisdom when founding The Courage to be Me in my post "On Fighting Bogarts - Part II";

Also you can compare this story with a different perspective in "A Proud Farmer"

#Acceptance #RiskResilience