Pair #82 Avoid getting scalded by life?
My Dad told me this story about him when he was a boy.
He was getting the usual lecture you get as a kid that's meant to keep you from burning yourself on the stove. You know, the "Don't touch! That's hot" admonition.
So later he was sitting next to fireplace and his mom, my grandmother, (who was a bit fierce I thought) is giving him very serious instructions to NOT go near the fire. Because, that's hot.
No sooner did she finish her last words, my father stuck his hand right into the flames.
"Why did you do that?" my grandmother asked.
"Because I wanted to see what 'hot' felt like," he said.
He was getting the usual lecture you get as a kid that's meant to keep you from burning yourself on the stove. You know, the "Don't touch! That's hot" admonition.
So later he was sitting next to fireplace and his mom, my grandmother, (who was a bit fierce I thought) is giving him very serious instructions to NOT go near the fire. Because, that's hot.
No sooner did she finish her last words, my father stuck his hand right into the flames.
"Why did you do that?" my grandmother asked.
"Because I wanted to see what 'hot' felt like," he said.
We think that the more we understand or know, the easier life will become. But what we mean by 'easy' is that no more bad stuff will happen.
We soon find that no matter how much you know, how enlightened you are or how spiritual your life, bad shit still happens to you and all around you.
In fact, one of the questions I get most when I'm coaching people is "I know so much, how come this is still happening?"
But the point of living is not to never experience hot.
In fact, as my Dad said, you really have to have your own experiences of hot, cold and everything in between - because no one, no matter how knowledgeable, can ever give you the experience of your life.
You can only get that by living it.
Here's is my favorite explanation for how this works:
Becoming more balanced and aware does not mean that bad things never happen, it's that when they do, you know you will be OK.
**
If you liked this you might like my other posts on Thinking or Learning
We soon find that no matter how much you know, how enlightened you are or how spiritual your life, bad shit still happens to you and all around you.
In fact, one of the questions I get most when I'm coaching people is "I know so much, how come this is still happening?"
But the point of living is not to never experience hot.
In fact, as my Dad said, you really have to have your own experiences of hot, cold and everything in between - because no one, no matter how knowledgeable, can ever give you the experience of your life.
You can only get that by living it.
Here's is my favorite explanation for how this works:
Becoming more balanced and aware does not mean that bad things never happen, it's that when they do, you know you will be OK.
**
If you liked this you might like my other posts on Thinking or Learning
© 2010 Elese Coit
If you wish to reprint, feel free, please link back here (http://elesecoit.com) and if it's of use, include:
"Elese Coit is a leader in transformative personal change and Hosts the Radio Show A New Way To Handle Absolutely Everything. To see the world differently, reach for one of her '101 New Pairs of Glasses' on http://elesecoit.com"
If you wish to reprint, feel free, please link back here (http://elesecoit.com) and if it's of use, include:
"Elese Coit is a leader in transformative personal change and Hosts the Radio Show A New Way To Handle Absolutely Everything. To see the world differently, reach for one of her '101 New Pairs of Glasses' on http://elesecoit.com"
