You Will Leave It Too

Dr. Madhu Patel told this story at Satsang:

One Sunday morning there was a wealthy man who was sitting on his balcony. He was having his coffee and enjoying the sunshine.

Out of the corner of his eye he noticed an ant carrying a big leaf. The leaf was several times the size of the ant, but he managed to carry it across the floor of the balcony.

For almost an hour the man watched as the ant encountered obstacle after obstacle. It would pause occasionally, or take a detour from his path. Whatever was necessary to complete its mission.

Once, the ant encountered a crack he couldn't cross. So he put the leaf over the crack, crossed it like it was a bridge, then picked it up again and "carried" on toward his destination.

The man was amazed that one of God's tiniest creatures had so much to ability to get a task done. Even though it was so small, it had the brains to reason, to contemplate, explore, discover, and overcome any stumbling blocks.

Then, it finally reached its destination: a tiny hole in the floor that led to his underground dwelling. The man wondered how this leaf was going to fit into that tiny hole.

After all, the ant had managed all the obstacles and difficulties, had come all that way, with all that hard work, using all his skills... but ultimately it had to leave the leaf behind in order to enter his home.

The ant probably never thought about the end before he began his challenging journey, what a burden it was. And the creature had no option but to leave the leaf behind to reach his destination.

The man thought about this and related it to humans. He thought, "We worry so much about our family, our jobs, how we are going to earn a living, where we're going to live, what kind of car we're going to buy, what kind of clothes we're going to wear, what kind of upgrades we're going to make to our appliances and gadgets that we have...

Only to abandon all these things when we reach our final destination. We'll just leave it before we go.

Yoga Makes Change Much Easier

Every day, little by little, you're becoming someone different, aren't you?

Whether you call it "growing up," maturing, deepening, or becoming enlightened, there are many little changes you notice, some little changes you create, and they're all adding up to something new.

Hopefully you're moving closer to your truest self, so you can live the most fulfilling life possible in alignment with your soul's aim.

Which is awesome... but...

You also have to deal with the consequences of these incremental changes. Transformation means you're making changes in your life, and changes can prick.

You changed X, and didn't realize Y would have to change as well. Changing Y now is a bit inconvenient, so you either roll with it or expend energy shoring it up.

For now. Until you accept the consequences of Y for Z, followed by the fundamental ABC changes that cause your friends and family to scratch their heads and even challenge you.

Unless they're transforming too, and then they get it.

If not, you weather the storm. It's your life after all.

Now, if there is something that promises to make all this easier to take, that promises to help you handle it with infinitely more grace, take it! Do it, grab it, squeeze it, cherish it...

And tell others about it.