There was once a holy man who was living a simple life in a little hut. One day he was looking for the axe that he used to cut wood for his fire and couldn’t find it. While searching, a thought suddenly came to his mind, “Oh, that boy who comes here must have stolen it.” Although he hadn’t seen the boy take the axe, nor had he reason to believe the boy was a thief, he was convinced.
From that day on when he saw the boy, the holy man would think – the boy walked like a thief and stood like a thief, even the boy’s gaze was just like that of a thief. Everything that the boy did appeared to him like a thief’s behavior.
Weeks went by and it was totally established in this holy man’s mind that the boy had stolen his axe. Then one day while cleaning his room, he pulled out a rug from under his bed, and there he found the axe. From that day on, when he looked at the boy, he no longer walked like a thief, stood like a thief, or gazed like a thief.
This same thing happens to us. In a moment when we are not centered or at ease with ourselves, a random thought might come, push a button in us, and the axe falls on somebody else. Then our clever mind puts all the pieces together to justify our belief. Whatever we are holding in our heart and mind about a person, that’s what we see.
In these moments, when the mind moves towards blaming another, we really need to look at ourselves. What kind of judgment are you holding about yourself? When you are feeling insecure, it’s very easy for the mind to flow towards negativity for someone else.
The person who is established in the self always finds a way to see good in the other person. Even if the other person has some shortcomings, it becomes easy to overlook those things.
When we are established in centeredness, happiness, and wholeness, we see beauty all around us. We see possibilities all around us. Inspirations come easy to us and life becomes so meaningful. There are so many reasons to live, to be creative, to be active, to be engaged in the world.
Can we find a moment to see the good in ourselves? To acknowledge the good qualities that we have? When we look at our virtues, our true wealth, we remember many things that usually are forgotten.
For a few moments of the day, just be with yourself. And in those moments, don’t start analyzing yourself about what is lacking in your life or what needs improvement. Accept yourself for who you are, even for a moment. And then start building on it.
