Here's To Being Truly Present...

There is an ancient teaching story about two Buddhist monks walking along a river in silence. They have a vow of chastity --which includes many vows, but one of these vows of chastity requires that they never speak to, or ever touch, a woman.

As they walk up the river, they come upon a woman who is desperately trying to get across the river because her child is on the other side. It is a fast-flowing river and she is frightened to cross the river by herself. The one monk walks over to her and says, "May I help you?" He picks her up and with the strength that he carries in his legs that walk mountains and valleys and streams as part of his work, he carries her across the river, sets her down, returns to join his fellow and they begin again to walk in silence.

About two hours later the second monk says to the first monk, "I can't believe you carried that woman across the river. I can't believe you touched her. I can't believe that you broke your vows."

The other monk simply looks at his companion and says, "I put her down two hours ago. You are still carrying her."

It's such a wonderful story about us simply learning to put something down.

Let's consider what are we still carrying that really isn't happening anymore. What are we still hanging onto that isn't in our present moment?

Let's put it down...And when we put that down, we now have our hands, our heart and our mind available to what's here, right now.

Here's To Being Truly Present...