A Weekend Story

Buddha was going town to town with his disciples and decided to set up camp for the evening on the bank of a natural lake. After settling down, Buddha called one of his disciples and said: ” I am thirsty, can you please fetch some water from the lake.”

The disciple walked to the edge of the lake, and he noticed that some kids were prancing around in the lake. The water was muddy. The disciple went back to the Buddha and told him, “my teacher, the water in the lake is very muddy. I don’t think it is fit to drink. Let me walk over to the next village and ask someone to share some clean water to drink.”

“Don’t worry. You don’t have to do that. You also take some rest. Come sit with me.”

An hour passes. Buddha beckons to the disciple, ” Please go back to the lake and get some water to drink.”

The disciple walks back to the lake. No kids are playing in the water. Now the lake is quiet and serene. The mud has settled down, and the water on the surface is sparkling clean. The disciple happily collects some water in a pot and takes it back to the Buddha.

Smiling, the Buddha says, ” see we let the water be, and the mud settled down on its own. We got clean water, and it did not require any effort from us.”

For all of us, our mind is like a lake. When it is agitated by the circumstances and our daily high-pressure chores, it becomes cloudy and not fit to contribute any clean thoughts that can create value.

• “I don’t know what the right action to take is. I am worried.”
• “The client is not responding. If I push, I may upset him. But I don’t want not to do anything too. I am confused. What can I do? “
• ” I have a target to meet, but whatever I am doing, results don’t seem to come. I don’t know what is happening. How do I get out of this rut?”

When we encounter issues or when we are stressed, we lose our peace of mind and serenity grappling with them. Our lake is muddy. Rather than agitating ourselves in trying to figure out answers, it makes sense just to let it be.

Give your mind and the issue you are grappling with, a break. Please don’t put any effort to try and calm it down or force the issue. Just give it some time and space. It will settle down on its own.

When your mind is calm and serene, and at peace, you will get to exercise your best judgment and make the best decisions.

Just let your mind be and don’t engage with your thoughts- This is also the essence of meditation. Just let your muddy thoughts settle down. You will have unlimited access to the fountain of creativity and clarity that is within you.