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Fable of Unburdening
The story is of an obviously weary traveler, walking down a dusty road, with a large boulder hoisted on one shoulder, a knapsack full of bricks on his back, and a net of sturdy weeds and vines around his legs so that he can only take short, hobbling steps. As you might imagine, this human packhorse was hobbling along, uncomfortably stooped over, his progress slow and tedious, his physical struggle great.
A person sitting by the roadside called his hello and asked, “Say traveler, why do you burden yourself with that big, heavy rock on your shoulder?”
Incredibly the traveler said “Hmmm. You know I never noticed how heavy it was before and, until you mentioned it, I hadn’t given much thought to the reasons for taking it with me.” After a few moments pondering, the traveler set the boulder down, left it by the side of the road, and walked on, a bit straighter and a bit quicker.
A little further along, he encountered another bystander who queried him about the knapsack full of bricks. “Hmmm. I’m glad you made mention of it”, said the traveler, “I hadn’t paid any attention to what was in the knapsack”. He took out all the bricks, left them at the roadside, and walked on.
A little further along, a curious child playing by the road called out to him. “Hey mister, why do you have all those weeds wrapped around your legs?”
The traveler took out his pocket knife and sliced away the weeds. One by one the bystanders made the traveler aware of his needless burdens. So, one by one, he accepted the new awareness, rejected the old burdens and abandoned them by the side of the road. Finally, he was a truly free man, and walked straight and tall like such a man.
Were the problems the boulder, the bricks, the weeds? No, not at all. The problem was his lack of awareness of them.
Philosophers stone – selected views from the boat http://philosophers-stone.co.uk
Source: http://www.phoenixisrisen.co.uk/?p=10237
