Tell it to the Frogs

There is an old Tibetan story about a frog that goes something like this.

Once, there was a frog who lived his whole life in a dank well. One day a frog from the sea visited him.
"Where do you come front?" asked the Well Frog.
"From the ocean," replied the Sea Frog.
"How big is the ocean?"
"It's gigantic"
"You mean about a quarter the size of my well?"
"Bigger."
"Bigger? So, half as big?"
"No, even bigger"
"Is it...as big as my well?"
"There is no comparison."
"Impossible!" said the Well Frog.
After this, the two frogs set out to see the ocean together. When the Well Frog saw the ocean, it was such a shock that his head just exploded into pieces.

How often do we find ourselves in the position of the Well Frog? We live our whole lives in our own little world. Blinded by the walls we have surrounded ourselves with, ignorant to the mysteries the world has to offer.
We believe that regardless of what others say, we are right. We have the best that life has to offer, and no one can tell us any different.
When we are confronted with what the others around us have, and those things exceed our own, we handle it in a way that is less than flattering, and often times outright bad for us. Why can't we just be happy for our fellow man and their great fortune?
We find that we have spent so much time focusing on our lives and our world, that we are completely unaware of the world that surrounds us is so full of wonder and happiness that when we are finally confronted with it, it's too late for us to be able to enjoy it.

Sometimes we need to reach out, see how the other half lives, and understand what a better place our world could be if we just found a way to balance our world, with the worlds of those around us. What if we spent a little time reaching out to those around us, and seeing what the world is like through there eyes?

The Clinging Fire

"Cling to the power of higher truth" I Ching, Chapter 30


We all have times in our lives when it's easier to let things fall to the back burner than to deal with them. Than to give them the time and attention they deserve. This blog for instance. It has been easier for me to not deal with it than to continue writing. And though I have not continued writing, it doesn't mean that I haven't continued musing.


When we allow things like this to fall by the wayside, we are letting them die. We are taking something we enjoy, something that makes us happy, and whole, and we are refusing to fuel this thing. Refusing to let it continue to burn. But this should not be the case. We should be allowing ourselves to fuel those fires that give us heart in times of need. That give us strength in times of weakness. That give us joy in times of sorrow.


So like fire, clinging to the wood that fuels it's flames, let us cling to those things that fuel our souls. Whatever those things may be, cling to them, and never let them go out. Make life what it can be, and what it should be.