So You Think You Have It Bad?
By Ma Puso
There was a man in the mountains who went to find a guru. He had a big feast to make for the holidays that were a ways off, but first he had a problem he wanted the guru to fix.
He climbed up the mountain, found the guru and said, "Guru, my mother-in-law has just moved in with us. We live in a one room hut. I have a big feast to make for the holidays coming up soon, and she will do nothing but get in my way. What am I to do? I hate my mother-in-law."
The guru smiles and says, "Do you have a goat?" The man says, "Yes, I have a goat." "Move the goat into the hut with you. Come back and see me in a week." The man leaves, does the guru's bidding, and comes back in a week.
"Guru, things did not get better. They got worse. I not only have my mother-in-law in the hut with us before the holidays, but now we have a goat. By the way, did I mention that I really hate my mother-in-law?"
The guru smiles kindly and responds, "Do you have chickens?" He sniffed. "Yes, I have chickens." "Move the chickens into the hut with you. Come back and see me in a week." The beleaguered man leaves to do the Guru's bidding. He comes back in a week.
"Guru, I cannot stand it. Things are definitely worse. I now not only have my feast to prepare AND my mother-in-law --whom I hate, in the hut with us, but now we have a goat AND chickens. Did I mention that I really, really hate my mother-in-law?"
The guru smiles kindly, nods and says, "Do you have a pig?" The man sighed. "Yes, I have a pig." "Move the pig into the hut with you. Come back and see me in a week." The befuddled man leaves to do the Guru's bidding. He comes back in a week.
"Guru, I cannot stand it. Things have gotten much worse. I now not only have my feast to prepare, my mother-in-law whom I truly hate -- I do believe I've mentioned that -- in the hut with us, but now we have a goat AND chickens AND a pig." He looked down at his feet and muttered, "I really, truly hate my mother-in-law."
The guru nods and says, "Do you have kittens?" The man sighs as her eyes dart around miserably. "Yes," he answers. "I have kittens." "Put the kittens in the hut with you. Come see me in a week." The poor, dejected man leaves. He comes back in a week.
"Guru, please. It has gotten worse and worse. Not only is the holiday coming up really soon where I have to make my feast, but I now not only have my mother-in-law, whom I cannot tell you how much I truly hate, in the hut with us, but now we have a goat AND chickens AND a pig AND kittens. I really, truly hate my mother-in-law. I am serious," he said determinedly.
The guru smiles gently and says, "Do you have a dog?" The man's eyes went up to the sky. When he found no divine help there, he took a deep breath. "Yes, I have a dog." His shoulders shuddered at what, by now, he knew the guru would say. "Put the dog in the hut with you. Come back in a week."
The poor, dejected man leaves. He comes back in a week. "Guru, I cannot take it anymore. I have not only the big feast to prepare, but my mother-in-law whom," he clears his throat, "well, you know, and now we have a goat AND chickens AND a pig AND kittens AND a dog."
He shook his head. A tear trickled down both his cheeks, because he knew the guru was going to say something dreadful. The guru smiled. "Now, take out all the animals. Come and see me in a week."
The bewildered man blinked in confusion as he left. He came back in a week. His step was spry, his smile wide. "Hellooooo, Guru," he called before he even got to the top of the mountain. "It's a beautiful day."
The guru asked, "And how is your mother-in-law, my son?" His smile didn't waver as he said, "Oh, you mean that fine lady living with us? Truthfully, she is not so bad." The guru said, "You have learned much, my son.
Sometimes, we need to KNOW that our assumptions can ruin us. We don't have it so bad, but we imagine several things and forget to enjoy our lives. We are living with humans and it takes us to get into animals to realize this truth. It's like, don't make the universe hit you over the head with a hammer, learn from the little taps it gives you. Let us learn to live with people and also love them."
There was a man in the mountains who went to find a guru. He had a big feast to make for the holidays that were a ways off, but first he had a problem he wanted the guru to fix.
He climbed up the mountain, found the guru and said, "Guru, my mother-in-law has just moved in with us. We live in a one room hut. I have a big feast to make for the holidays coming up soon, and she will do nothing but get in my way. What am I to do? I hate my mother-in-law."
The guru smiles and says, "Do you have a goat?" The man says, "Yes, I have a goat." "Move the goat into the hut with you. Come back and see me in a week." The man leaves, does the guru's bidding, and comes back in a week.
"Guru, things did not get better. They got worse. I not only have my mother-in-law in the hut with us before the holidays, but now we have a goat. By the way, did I mention that I really hate my mother-in-law?"
The guru smiles kindly and responds, "Do you have chickens?" He sniffed. "Yes, I have chickens." "Move the chickens into the hut with you. Come back and see me in a week." The beleaguered man leaves to do the Guru's bidding. He comes back in a week.
"Guru, I cannot stand it. Things are definitely worse. I now not only have my feast to prepare AND my mother-in-law --whom I hate, in the hut with us, but now we have a goat AND chickens. Did I mention that I really, really hate my mother-in-law?"
The guru smiles kindly, nods and says, "Do you have a pig?" The man sighed. "Yes, I have a pig." "Move the pig into the hut with you. Come back and see me in a week." The befuddled man leaves to do the Guru's bidding. He comes back in a week.
"Guru, I cannot stand it. Things have gotten much worse. I now not only have my feast to prepare, my mother-in-law whom I truly hate -- I do believe I've mentioned that -- in the hut with us, but now we have a goat AND chickens AND a pig." He looked down at his feet and muttered, "I really, truly hate my mother-in-law."
The guru nods and says, "Do you have kittens?" The man sighs as her eyes dart around miserably. "Yes," he answers. "I have kittens." "Put the kittens in the hut with you. Come see me in a week." The poor, dejected man leaves. He comes back in a week.
"Guru, please. It has gotten worse and worse. Not only is the holiday coming up really soon where I have to make my feast, but I now not only have my mother-in-law, whom I cannot tell you how much I truly hate, in the hut with us, but now we have a goat AND chickens AND a pig AND kittens. I really, truly hate my mother-in-law. I am serious," he said determinedly.
The guru smiles gently and says, "Do you have a dog?" The man's eyes went up to the sky. When he found no divine help there, he took a deep breath. "Yes, I have a dog." His shoulders shuddered at what, by now, he knew the guru would say. "Put the dog in the hut with you. Come back in a week."
The poor, dejected man leaves. He comes back in a week. "Guru, I cannot take it anymore. I have not only the big feast to prepare, but my mother-in-law whom," he clears his throat, "well, you know, and now we have a goat AND chickens AND a pig AND kittens AND a dog."
He shook his head. A tear trickled down both his cheeks, because he knew the guru was going to say something dreadful. The guru smiled. "Now, take out all the animals. Come and see me in a week."
The bewildered man blinked in confusion as he left. He came back in a week. His step was spry, his smile wide. "Hellooooo, Guru," he called before he even got to the top of the mountain. "It's a beautiful day."
The guru asked, "And how is your mother-in-law, my son?" His smile didn't waver as he said, "Oh, you mean that fine lady living with us? Truthfully, she is not so bad." The guru said, "You have learned much, my son.
Sometimes, we need to KNOW that our assumptions can ruin us. We don't have it so bad, but we imagine several things and forget to enjoy our lives. We are living with humans and it takes us to get into animals to realize this truth. It's like, don't make the universe hit you over the head with a hammer, learn from the little taps it gives you. Let us learn to live with people and also love them."
Labels: Motivation, Stories
posted by Lee Swee Huat at
9:51 pm
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