Once upon a time, there was a general who was leading his army into battle against an enemy ten times the size of his own.
Along the way to the battle field, the troops stopped by a small temple to pray for victory.
The general held up a coin and told his troops, “I am going to implore the gods to help us crush our enemy.
If this coin lands with the heads on top, we’ll win. If it’s tails, we’ll lose. Our fate is in the hands of the gods. Let’s pray wholeheartedly.”
After a short prayer, the general tossed the coin high into the air. It landed with the heads on top. The troops were overjoyed and went into the battle in high spirits.
Just as the coin predicted, the smaller army won the battle.
The soldiers were exalted, “It’s good to have the gods on our side! No one can change what they have determined.”
“Really?” asked the general, and showed them the coin … there was a head on both sides.
We all have choices to make in life. Everything from whether to take tea or coffee to the major life-changing decisions regarding money, relationships, children and careers.
None of us like to be the subject of gossip, rumour or criticism, but there are times in life when it may be unavoidable. If you deviate from the well trodden path, the route that the many take, or have taken, you will open yourself up to closer, and often hostile, attention.
If you ride a bicycle on UK roads, you’ll know how lovely it can be to find yourself on a stretch of nice smooth new tarmac. The lumps and bumps of our older repaired roads really can rattle your bones, so the new surface is a real treat.
The human being is not, as some people seem to believe, a frail wretch at the mercy of fate.
There was an amusing end to a dinner party last night, where I was told by one of the other guests, that I was the weirdest person they had ever met. She did soften the message by saying I was lovely, but she reiterated the fact that I was well weird.
I love the way this poem beautifully encapsulates the stages of learning, and the long, long road to enlightenment …
You know the saying about taking the rough with the smooth? Well life generally consists of a mixture of good times and bad times, happiness and sadness, health as well as sickness. In general, it is the ratio of these opposites that makes us feel that life is going well, or going badly.
Whilst feeling a little adrift given my current situation and enraged by the lack of fairness in the way modern institutions and those in power treat us mere morals, I found this piece by Sensei rather encouraging …
Determination grows out of adversity. To accomplish an easy or pleasant task does not require determination, it is the difficult or unpleasant task that most definitely does.
The Search For Enlightenment 
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