Dissolving the Bitterness of Life

[Guest guest]

Once a young man came to a revered teacher, who was seated under a

tree near a beautiful lake, and asked for the solution for his

unhappiness. After some minutes of conversation the old master kindly

instructed the visitor to put a handful of salt in a glass of water

and then to drink a few mouthfuls.

 

" How does it taste? " the teacher asked. " Awful, " said the apprentice

after he had spat out the revolting liquid a few paces away. The

teacher chuckled and then asked the young man to take another handful

of salt and put it in the lake. The two walked in silence to the

nearby lake and when the youngster swirled his handful of salt into

the lake, the old man told him, " Now drink from the lake. "

 

As the water dripped down the young man's chin, the master asked him

again, " How does it taste? " " Good! " he replied. " Do you taste the

salt? " asked the Master. " No, " said the young man. The Master sat

beside the troubled youth, took his hands, and said,

 

" The pain of life is pure salt; no more, no less. The amount of pain

in life remains the same, exactly the same. But the level of `pain we

taste' depends on the container we put it into. So when you are in

pain, the only thing you can do is to enlarge your sense of things.

Stop being a glass. Become a lake.

 

And you can become a lake where you broaden your outlook; when you

stop looking only at yourself and your own miseries. Look at life as

a whole and the many things without which you would not be what you

are today – your friends, family, hobbies, nature around you.

When you are confronted with a problem, you see only the problem and

ruminate over it endlessly which only makes the situation more

tragic. Think of previous instances when things were better. Look at

all the blessings that God has filled your life with about which you

never give a thought.

 

Never compare yourself negatively with others. You are a unique

person and if you have the faith, God will provide what you need.

When you have a pain in your life, put it in front of GOD - then it

will surely lessen. Do not put it in front of yourself – as you

cannot see beyond it.

 

God is Infinite. Tap this source, with confidence.

The young man left, and his viewpoint on his problems had totally

changed. As the saying goes:

 

Tell your problems how big your God Is.

 

Illustrations: Anuj Shukla, SSSU

- Heart2Heart Team

 

Ram Chugani

Kobe, Japan

rgcjp