Here is a story that explains the power of choosing,…
High in the Himalayan mountains lived a wise old man.
Periodically, he ventured down into the local village to entertain the villagers with his special knowledge and talents. One of his skills was to psychically tell the villagers the contents in their pockets, boxes, or minds.
A few young boys from the village decided to play a joke on the wise old man and discredit his special abilities.
One boy came up with the idea to capture a bird and hide it in his hands. He knew of course, the wise old man would know the object in his hands was a bird.
The boy devised a plan.
Knowing the wise old man would correctly state the object in his hands was a bird, the boy would ask the old man if the bird was dead or alive. If the wise man said the bird was alive, the boy would crush the bird in his hands, so that when he opened his hands the bird would be dead.
But, If the wise man said the bird was dead, the boy would open his hands and let the bird fly free. So no matter what the old man said, the boy would prove the old man a fraud.
The following week, the wise old man came down from the mountain into the village. The boy quickly caught a bird and cupping it out of sight in his hands, walked up to the wise old man and asked, “Old man, old man, what is it that I have in my hands?”
The wise old man said, “You have a bird, my son.” And he was right.
The boy then asked, “Old man, old man, tell me: Is the bird alive or is it dead?”
The wise old man looked at the boy, thought for a moment and said, “The bird is as you choose it to be.”
How much power is at the palms of our hands? A reflection and contemplation of this story reveals that we hold the power to move from one direction to another. In the course of our life, we are involved with many choices. The routines during the day, morning and night, play a symphony of do this and do that. The four question groups of W’s, what, where, why, when, and as well as how to do it. And the forks on the road that hinder a choice of which way to go could be dangerous. These choices really matter to the place we can put ourselves in. Are we making the right choices? Is the way clear? Is it just? There are a number of questions that could revolve around making the right choices.
In this story, there are two main characters: a boy and a wise old man. While this story of choice could take on many meanings, the boy is in a way an immature side of a person. To choosing without logic and reasoning can be a pitfall to the youthful bunch. Quickly deciding with immoral thinking is already ill-mannered. The wise old man seems that he was a boy ages ago, after the turn of events and the road of life there is the learning from the lessons of life.
There are small choices that doesn’t seem much, though some could add to a bigger choice. While big choices could be something that could involve a big lease for your home or apartment. Another could be starting a business, adequate cost of starting up can prove to be a bit risky. Dangerous decision making could send life upside down. Definitely, last minute choices could stray far from the line between the good and bad.
It seems that before we can make a wise decision, to make a good decision, we need to learn and apply what we learn to life. There are stages of the boy (and choices do play on the moral factor of right and wrong, though I hope we are making just decisions) and becoming a wise old man means that we learned from mistakes to make a good decision.
It is important in life, even in the insignificant terms of choices, there is a proper way to make good decisions, especially sound and ethical. Don’t have too many choices, its hard and can get complicating. A good firm understanding of what you are doing helps make a well-thought up plan of action. Organization really helps create a good foundation of decision making when faced with choices. Organization helps us all. Good intention helps bring up the moral compass as well.
In the paths of life, we are given the power of choosing, the way of it depends on you. With good preparation, a good moral compass, and trust in character could help us to learn from the wise old man, though even the boy we can learn from. We learn from our mistakes so we don’t have to repeat the same mistakes. Learn from our choices and the lessons of life, so we can live good.
Thank you for reading the blog entry. How about you? What did you learn from the story? These stories help open up a moral compass within our life. In front of us is the opportunity to investigate the meaning of life. There are many ways of interpretation, however the story can be unique to your life. Let’s look within our life and practice of reflection and contemplation. There is practical inspiration within our daily lives.
Photo by Boris Smokrovic on Unsplash
Thought Lighthouse 