Letting go
I was just about to enter home after my morning walk when the man who washes my car everyday came running towards me and told me to come and take a look at my car. When i went there i was aghast to see my new sedan having many deep scratches deliberately done on the left side doors and on the boot. The deep impressions would have been done by a very sharp instrument intentionally. It was a sheer act of violence which has become a part of life in this modern world and maybe done by someone whether inside my apartment complex or outside but done by someone who was in great distress or anger or agony anyway needing psychological or psychiatric help. Recollecting where i had left my car the previous evening i could recall 3 places i had gone to and one of them was to a hotel where i had given it to be valet parked. Maybe it could have been parked in a wrong place. The experience of seeing the deep deliberately caused scratches was just too bad for me to take but not for more than 2 minutes. I got over it. The eyes of the car wash person was watching me with great expectation to see what my next reaction would be, i said," it is alight.!! " happens sometimes... saying this i walked towards home leaving him stunned !! I was pleased with myself for being dispassionate and detached towards such a material thing like the car though i should confess that i felt lousy for the first couple of minutes !! During those two minutes i recollected 2 incidents which i had read about that gave me the maturity to accept things as they were and just letting it go leaving me unaffected...
Sir Isaac Newton the well known scientist had a pet dog named Diamond. Newton loved animals and his closest friend would have been Diamond. One day Diamond knocked over a candle on the scientist's desk and started a blaze that destroyed many years of research and those days there was no means of saving the data then !! The revered scientist knew that it would be grossly unfair to blame the animal or his bad time for the fire and did not lose his cool or his temper. Viewing the destruction, Newton just said," O Diamond, Diamond, thou little knowest the damage thou hast done" he let it go from his mind and started the research all over again.
There was once a general in ancient China whose hobby was to collect antiques. It was his favorite pastime to admire the antiques he had collected over the years which were expensive and exquisite. One day when he was examining and admiring an expensive vase which was his latest acquisition holding it in his hands a careless movement caused the vase to slip from his hands. The general tried to catch it but but because of its shiny surface he could not catch it. The general dove forward and finally managed to hold on just a few millimetres from the floor. The generals heart was beating frantically. He gripped the vase, wiped his sweat and regained composure after a few minutes. He realized that something was not alright. In his military life he had fought many a battle sometimes with more people on the other side and the fear of losing his life was never there for the general and was never afraid. Somehow on that particular day the fear of losing the vase got him anxious and fearful and he deliberated about what had happened to him. Moments later he realized that he had become too attached to the antique vase. This attachment had caused him so much anxiety and unnecessary tension. He decided his next move, perfectly at ease he stood up took the vase and relaxed his hands and let it go.... The vase fell down and broke into pieces.
The secret of true faith and the essence of spiritual awakening is said in three words: "Let it go !!" We hold on to our desires, possessions, beliefs, attitudes, fears, grievances, money, thoughts, grievances, and so on. Upon asking ourselves the reason why we hold on and not let it go the answer could lie in attachment or insecurity or fear or desire to control everything ourselves. An effective way of dealing with frustration and despair would be to go to the root of the cause, understand our feelings and then let go of our destructive negative emotion so that we could be at peace. Easy to say and more easier to write but if one is able to accept and let go, life would be far more easier. I have just made a start. Miles to go and tons to learn and experience but i thought i made a decent start,..