Trust in All That Is
The Being
Channel: Jahn J Kassl
Where misery is little, there lamentation is great; where suffering is great, there strife is little.
Trusting in life means neither quarreling nor complaining, recognizing everything for what it IS.
The following story has been handed down to us from the time of Laotse in China:
Once upon a time in a village there was an old man who was very poor, but was still the envy of kings – because he owned a beautiful white horse. A horse of such quality had never been seen – such beauty, such pride, such strength! Kings competed for the horse and offered fabulous prizes, but the old man had only one answer: “To me, this horse is not a horse but a man, and how can a man be sold?” No, that’s out of the question.” The man was poor and had every reason to succumb to temptation, but he never sold the horse.
One morning he suddenly discovered that the horse was no longer in the stable. The whole village got together and everyone said, “You got that, old fool! We knew it beforehand, one day the horse had to be stolen! And how can you properly guard such a treasure in your poverty? You really should have done better to sell the horse. You could have charged astronomical sums for it, any price you could imagine. Now the horse is gone. Now you see what a curse, what a misfortune it was for you.”
The old man said, “You don’t have to exaggerate! Let’s just say the horse is not in the stable. That’s the only fact; everything else is interpretation. Whether it is an accident or not, how will you know? How can you judge that?”
People said, “You can’t fool us; we may not be great philosophers, but you don’t need philosophy here either. It is a clear fact that treasure has been lost, and it is unfortunate.”
The old man replied, “I stand by it: the only fact is that the stable is empty and the horse is gone. Beyond that, I know nothing, misfortune or blessing – for such judgment is limited; and no one knows what is yet to come.” He was laughed at.
People thought the old man was crazy. They’d always known he wasn’t quite right in the head; otherwise he would have sold his horse and lived in the lap of luxury… Instead, he made his living as a lumberjack. Although he was very old, he still cut down trees, brought the wood out of the forest and sold it. He lived hand to mouth, having only the bare minimum and never really enough. But now they finally realized that he was crazy.
After a fortnight the horse suddenly came back one night. It hadn’t been stolen, it had just wandered off into the wild. And not only did it come back, it also brought twelve other wild horses with it. And again the people got together and said, “Dude, you were right; we were wrong. It was not a misfortune, but a blessing. We’re sorry for blaming you.”
And the old man said, “You’re going too far again. Can’t you just say that the horse is back and that it brought twelve other horses with it? Why are you judging? Who wants to know if it’s a blessing or not? It’s just a snippet and if you don’t know the whole context how can you judge? How can you judge a book if you’ve only read one page? How can you judge a whole page if you’ve only read one sentence of it? How can you judge the sentence if you have only read one word of it? And what you hold in your hand is less than a word – life is so infinite. You have only a fragment of a word in your hand and have judged the whole world. So don’t say that this is a blessing, because who knows… And I’m perfectly content with that, that I don’t know. So please leave me alone.”
This time people kept their mouths shut. Maybe the old man was right again. So they didn’t say anything, but of course they knew secretly that he was wrong. Twelve glorious horses had come back with the one horse! With a little break-in, they could all be sold and fetch a lot of money.
The old man had a younger son – it was his only one. This son now began to tame the wild horses; a week later he fell off one of the horses and broke both his legs. Again the people got together… They said, “You were right. What you suspected has been confirmed once again. It wasn’t a blessing, it was a misfortune. Your only son lost his legs! Who shall now be the support of your old age? Now you are poorer than ever.”
The old man said, “Can’t you stop your judgments for once? You’re going too far again – just say my son broke his legs. No one knows whether this is bad luck or good luck, no one. It’s just a fragment again and we never get to see more than fragments. Life only shows itself to us in fragments, but we always make our judgments about the whole.”
A few weeks later it happened that war broke out with the neighboring country and all the young men were drafted into the army. Only the old man’s son stayed behind because he was a cripple. The people came together, weeping and lamenting, because the young men were taken by force from every house. And there was no chance that they would ever come back, for the country that was at war with was a very big country and the battle was lost from the start. So they wouldn’t come back…
The whole village wept and wailed, and they came to the old man and said, “How right you were, old man! God knows how right you were – it was a blessing. Your son may be a cripple, but at least he’s staying with you. We will never see our sons again. At least he’s alive and with you, and little by little he’ll learn to walk again. Maybe he’ll limp a little more, but he’ll be fine.”
The old man rebuffed, “It’s just impossible to talk to you people. You just can’t let it go – these judgments forever. Nobody knows anything! Just say your sons were drafted into the army and my son wasn’t. But whether it is a blessing or a misfortune, no one knows. Nobody will ever know. God only knows. (Osho, The Sufi Way, p.48 ff)
Everything serves my growth!
Everything is an event on the path to perfection that I am walking now. Rain, sun, hail, lightning, thunder alternate, but my inner state of mind remains unaffected. Because I trust in what IS now.
Everything serves me and everything promotes my growth. That’s what I trust and that’s how I stay at peace.
Far too quickly you slide into frustration and hopelessness. You are quick to become discouraged and feel drained of your strength.
• Trust what is!
• Trust that life will take care of you.
• Trust in your power.
The key to a fulfilling life is trust in life.
Events are waymarkers that provide the necessary orientation, but they are by no means firmly anchored, inevitable or even unchangeable facts – subject to the passage of time, they are one thing today and another tomorrow. Don’t hold on to it. Gain distance from it and reflect, for everything comes to you, and accept what is given to you – trust!
Whatever happens – familiar! Doesn’t rate. Don’t be misled into any judgement.
What is now has meaning, purpose and provides for your growth.
Today’s suffering is tomorrow’s joy – the transformation of the being creates space for this change.
Trust what is. The second key to understanding one’s own life is given.
From Being
From Being
- jahn j kassl, jahn kassl, the being,
- achieve devotion, authentic life, courage, creates turmoil, ego-mind, perseverance, prayer, responsibility, situation, strength, surrender
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