Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Pay the Reckoning

"You can be anything you want to be...
Do anything you want to do...
Have anything you want to have...
if you are willing to pay the price."

Have you heard that one before? I know I have many times.
Is it encouraging or discouraging?

It reminds me of the story of the angel sent by Almighty God
to a couple of serious meditators. They both had been sitting
a long time for enlightenment. They both had prayed hard for the answer.

God told his angel that the first man had to sit 12 more years.
The second man had to continue sitting under the same tree
for as many years as there were leaves on the tree.

So when the angel, disguised as a holy man, told the first man
that he only had to sit 12 more years, he was surprised.

The man jumped up as angry as could be and said, "What?!?!
I've already been sitting here 12 years. You want me to sit 12
more years?" And he chase the angel away, threatening him with a stick.

The angel felt cautious about what he had to tell the second man,
but he did it because that was his job.

The second man smiled and said, "Thank you for this good news.
I'm greatly encouraged that I will have what I long for in a definite
number of years."

Because of his gratitude, he was given the enlightenment right away.

The point of the story, this time, is acceptance of the price we have to pay
to get what we want. I believe that having a good idea of the cost of success
and the willingness to pay it, actually speeds up the process.

That's what Pay the Reckoning is about.

1 comment:

spollydolly said...

Hi Elan,
Thanks for this...I really needed to hear it at this time!