When

An earnest student approached a Zen master, ‘If I work very hard with diligence how long will it take to learn Zen.’ The Master replied, ‘Ten years.’ The student then said, ‘if I work very, very hard and really apply myself to learn fast, how long then?’ Replied the Master, ‘twenty years.’ ‘But, if I really, really work at it. How long then?" the student persisted. ‘Thirty years,’ replied the Master.

‘I do not understand,’ said the disappointed student. ‘Each time that I say I will work harder, you say it will take me longer. Why?’ The Master replied, ‘when you have one eye on the goal, you only have one eye on the path.’

So often, when we seek to learn something, we keep worrying about ‘when’ we would ‘reach’ the destination, instead of focusing on the purpose of the trip. The approach to learning needs an attitude of patience. Time, it is said, seems to fly slower to the one whose main occupation is to watch its flight.

More importantly, when we are obsessed with the length of the road we tend to let go of the exciting experiences during the journey of learning. We subject ourselves to an additional load on our mind which results in the creation of unnecessary stress that further clouds our visibility on the learning curve. It is prudent to ponder on ‘how’ rather than on ‘when’.

Do not fret for ‘when’ of end of road

‘unite to impact’ learning sans load!

- Pravin K. Sabnis

Goa, India.

Prevention

A door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman pushed his way into a woman’s home. ‘This machine is the best ever’ he insisted, whilst pouring a bag of dirt on the carpet, ‘If this machine doesn’t remove all the dirt completely, I’ll personally eat the remainder.’ The lady stepped back and said, ‘Well I hope you've got a good appetite, because they cut off my electricity this morning.’

This old joke was shared by yours truly to student volunteers who had joined the initiative by ‘One World’ to clean up a small portion of the beach in a small but significant way. The point being pointed was the folly of dirtying up our world believing in the guaranteed capacity to clean up later. It was about restating the old saying, ‘prevention is better than cure’.

Indeed, while cleaning up the trash is commendable, it would be better to prevent trash from piling up. In fact, responsible and responsive life habits can ensure that we prevent garbage creation by being prudent in our use of resources and whatever is unavoidable is segregated at source to prevent unnecessary complications.

In other spheres of life too, prevention of the compounding of the problem can guarantee that we are not dependent on discovering solutions. We must envision the impact of every little act and unite our resolve to impact the result by choosing to prevent the dumping of dirt, in the arrogant belief that we can clean up later. For the connection may well go dead.

‘unite to impact’ little acts to thwart the dirt elevation...
The pile is less daunting when we choose prevention!

- Pravin K. Sabnis
Goa, India.

Still Another Mile

And my destination makes it worth the while

Pushing through the darkness, still another mile’
- from the song ‘I have a dream’ by ABBA

Sometimes, trekking rookies despair about the distance of the destination. The old hands use two ways to motivate the tenderfoot… First, the dejected are reminded about the worth of the endeavour, by describing the charms of the destination. Next is the time tested motivation, ‘we are almost there’

In fact, the veteran’s auto suggestion will be - ‘still another mile’… not just to cover the distance; but to go beyond the distance. The difference between ‘just one mile to go’ and ‘still another mile’ is exactly the distinction between a smaller, immediate goal and the larger destination of our dream…

In the real world, an important principle of success in all walks of life, in all professions and all undertakings is the compliance of ‘going the extra mile’. Search as much as you will for a single sound argument against this principle and you will not find it, nor will you find a single instance of enduring success.

We must ask ourselves: Do I do more than what I am expected to do? Do I render a better service than that for what I am paid? Do I walk the extra mile to my larger destination of my bigger dream?

While it is good to honour commitments, expectations or targets; it is greater to move beyond the limits we have set ourselves. For it is these very extra miles, that will unite to impact our performance with our true potential.

Extra efforts ‘unite to impact’ to make it worth the while...

Not just the distance, walk beyond… ‘still another mile’!

                              

- Pravin K. Sabnis

Goa, India.