The Capability Gap, Gut-Brain Connection, & More

What is the burden that you’re still carrying?

There is an old Buddhist parable that I love:

An old and young monk are walking along on a journey when they encounter a rushing river.

As they ready themselves for the crossing, they see a woman who is struggling to get to the other side. She asks for their help. The two hesitate, as they’ve both taken vows to avoid contact with women.

The older monk then walks over to the woman, places her on his shoulders, carries her across the river, and drops her on the other side, before continuing on his journey.

The younger monk is stunned, but says nothing for many miles as they continue their walk.

Finally, after several hours, he confronts the older monk: “We are not allowed to touch a woman, how could you carry her that way?”

The older monk pauses, then replies: “I set her down miles back on the side of the river, why are you still carrying her?”

The lesson of the story is simple:

We are all carrying the burdens of our past far beyond the riverbank where we should have set them down.

We can choose to hold on to them and continue to feel their strain, or we can choose to set them down and move forward with a new lightness.

What burdens are you still carrying?

Perhaps it’s time you place them down on the riverbank.

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