Zen Stories

We will see

There is a Taoist story of an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit.
"Such bad luck," they said sympathetically.
"We'll see," the farmer replied.
The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses.
"How wonderful," the neighbors exclaimed.
"We'll see," replied the old man.
The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune.
"We'll see," answered the farmer.
The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son's leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.
"We'll see" said the farmer.

Working very  Hard

A martial arts student went to his teacher and said earnestly, "I am devoted to studying your martial system. How long will it take me to master it."
The teacher's reply was casual, "Ten years."
Impatiently, the student answered, "But I want to master it faster than that. I will work very hard. I will practice everyday, ten or more hours a day if I have to. How long will it take then?" 
The teacher thought for a moment,
"20 years."

Choose to be polite

Smile - the universal language of friendship, of being approachable and  accessible. My job as such requires me to smile, and make people welcome and I have been doing that for past 11 years. I enjoy meeting people, people from all walks of life, people in different moods, in different stages of life. People who are kind and honest, people who spread cheer, and some of them become your friends for life.
For  years, my only source of social life , were these very strangers who had may be come to fill gas, get a slush or maybe a cup of coffee. Strangers who became close friends, long after the source that got us together was long gone. Their stories have inspired me, given me hope and at times broken my heart. I consider myself very lucky to have the opportunity to befriend and form lasting relations with them, for having shared laughter and day to day trivial or life changing tribulations.
Yet for every 99 good people, you come across someone who makes you wonder if it is all worth it. The odd rude, belligerent customer, who can throw you off guard. People with anger issues, people just born grumpy, some racists, some plain old unhappy souls.  I find negative energy is stronger and stays with you longer. I have had people who made me cry, people who have looked into my eyes and sworn words that cannot be written at me, people who have been sweet talkers with the intention to steal . And all the while you are supposed to be polite and smile as if the offensive behavior is their privilege, because the customer is always right.
Seriously, I cannot imagine being rude to strangers. Most of the people who are rude are dealing with their own personal issues and all they need is a trigger to vent it off. Dealing with people is very fulfilling, helping them, listening and maybe making their day in someway by lending them a ear or giving them a smile, but believe me it takes all your inner strength to not sneer at a teen with attitude who considers Facebook profile to be a valid piece of validity, or to a customer who tells you how to do your job.
But then those 99% of wonderful people make it all worthwhile to bear the burnt of the tortured souls, who spill their pain and virulent nature on strangers.

The Art of Waiting

Patience is a trait extolled to help you lead a fulfilled life. Waiting is an art -  either you are gifted with the serenity to accept a situation as it is and not wait, or you are always jumping ahead and waiting for something to change.
I have seen some people wait in the queue for an hour without complaining, embracing the moment , and others who are impatient and are always in a rush. I am the second one. Waiting for someone or a news is the worst. Time plays a trick and slows down and every minute drags -oh how I hate waiting! It seems to me though that I am getting better with age, and learning to a certain extent  that every thing in nature needs time to ripen. If you rush in, you will end up with raw fruit or  a  bud that did not get time to bloom. or in extreme case the seed did not sprout (takes too much time and you have to water without seeing any results for days).
I realize on a certain level, that if I want to enjoy my weekend, I will have to work and wait for the 5 weekdays . Yes, however much I want I cannot rush in summer, or a full moon night or the flowers to bloom. It takes patience to learn to be patient - practice and learning from experience that rushing in is foolhardy and timing is everything.
Have you ever waited for a letter to arrive, or an important email or message? Have you ever waited for a loved one to return or your vacation to begin? Or simply waited for the water to boil?It is not easy - oh so not easy for someone like me.
I  appreciate people who are patient, who are in sync with present. Waiting can either be a form of suffering or a period of learning. It takes lot of courage to wait, lot of wisdom to accept that the right time is not here yet for change and to be happy where you are at the moment. It also makes life more fulfilled, because you are not living in the future, and are focused on the present moment.
Today technology has erased the need for waiting times to quite an extent. You are hungry, 2 minutes is the standard waiting time for a drive-thru, if you are missing someone takes seconds to call, want to watch movie, there are literally available to you at your fingertips. Which is all great, till you are faced with no skills for times when waiting becomes essential. Yes, even in these modern times the time lapse between what you want and when you get it,is possible and occurs from time to time.
One day maybe, one day I will learn to appreciate the virtue in waiting, but do I have the patience to wait for it ? I am not too sure.

Conversation in modern times

 Heady discussions, the uncontrollable laughter, or the whispered secrets in hushed tones, the art of conversation, of exchanging thoughts, sharing emotions and the satisfaction of connecting is slowly disappearing. 

Texting, chatting, has taken precedence over verbal conversation. As our list of "friends" and accessibility to rapid communication increases, it seems our effort to stay away from any genuine form of contact is increasing too. Is it because the expectations has increased and there is less filtration in our social life? Or is the defense mechanism to the invasion of excessive and ready availability to all? 

I believe because our communication is so widespread, and invades into all the aspects of life, we have started to conserve our energy by limited and safer means of expressions. A smiley face or an LOL has replaced the sound of laughter or the subtle changes in our voice tonality.

We have adapted to this one-dimensional form of communication - it is after all convenient and it is our way to  protect our privacy. A text can be ignored, a smiley face can be keyed while watching T.V. or  spending time with your family. More technology invades our lives, more we are going to defend our private life, in our own peculiar passive ways by implementing selective attention span.
Before now, I found it very hard to text - but I do appreciate the protective barrier this form of communication provides me. I don't have to use all my faculties, creating  a mechanism to evade or delay.  Although it might seem we are giving out more information about our private times considering the effect of instant communication, social media, we have to remember all these media give us the power to control what we show. Unlike face to face conversations where it is difficult to hide your real feelings  and where unspoken words are vocal and loud, words and emoticons are robotic and basically expressionless.

No Strings Attached

I have been debating about getting a pet - just because it is nice to have someone around. Someone who sort of listens to you maybe. Someone who is grateful that you have fed them or cuddled them. Someone who loves you unconditionally and you can boss around But fortunately common sense prevailed over my inflated ego and instead of getting a dog or a cat , last year I  just put up a bird-feeder in the balcony.

Earlier in the year I did buy a fish tank, but unfortunately the fish died before we could even decide on a proper name for it. After flushing down fish twice and seeing my son mourning over it proved how incapable I was of taking care of another creature. That is when the bird feeder came into picture and my no-strings attached pet story began. Now I do have the satisfaction of nature visiting my house, and also the urge to nurture is satiated
by filling up the bird feeder from time to time. I love the conferencing birds, visiting me - Blue Jays and Sparrows and occasionally a hummingbird. The constant chirping, coming and going keeps me happy although the winter season was quiet without them.

Recently our neighbor got a cat - an outdoor cat named Booker. Now, officially the tag declares him to be the pet of my neighbor, but can anyone really "own" a cat? Unlike dogs, who are bonded by their loyalty to you, cats are self-willed. I always considered myself a dog lover what with the relationship being intensely involved with you providing care, entertainment and  exercise and getting  legendary loyalty in return. But that was before I was bogged down with the responsibilities that tag along any relationship.I have now become smarter and now  Booker has joined our guest house.

 I love that we have this no-strings attached relationship. He comes and goes as and when he wishes, brushing himself against my legs , a signal to caress and pet him. I feed him, pet him, hug him too, but that is where it all ends. The perfect pet - no need to worry about paying hefty pet insurance, or where he is wandering.

So here is my pet story - simple and convenient, satisfying my need for keeping a pet . I do realize that he goes to other houses too ( I should have guessed considering how fat he has become), but there is no jealousy, no possessiveness involved.What can be better than sharing your love for pet with others?
My appreciation of cats have definitely increased and I have come to admire the fierce independence of these beautiful feline animals.

Quotes by Sylvia Plath

“If you expect nothing from anybody, you’re never disappointed.
 
“I am still so naïve; I know pretty much what I like and dislike; but please, don’t ask me who I am. A passionate, fragmentary girl, maybe,


“I write only because
There is a voice within me
That will not be still”

“I love my rejection slips. They show me I try.”

“With me, the present is forever, and forever is always shifting, flowing, melting. This second is life. And when it is gone it is dead. But you can't start over with each new second. You have to judge by what is dead. It's like quicksand... hopeless from the start. ”

“What a man wants is a mate and what a woman wants is infinite security.” 

Quotes on Friendship

She is a friend of mind. She gather me, man. The pieces I am, she gather them and give them back to me in all the right order. It's good, you know, when you got a woman who is a friend of your mind.

“What is love? two souls and one flesh; friendship? two bodies and one soul.”


 My children are delightful people, whom I would love even if they weren't my children.

“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: "What! You too? I thought I was the only one.”

The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing... not healing, not curing... that is a friend who cares.

I always felt that the great high privilege, relief and comfort of friendship was that one had to explain nothing

“When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You know that your name is safe in their mouth.”

“You can't stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.”

“Tis the privilege of friendship to talk nonsense, and to have her nonsense respected.” ―