Lightness v Significance
On being overly significant
Submitted by kurt.stewart on Mon, 03/08/2010 - 18:41
Sometimes we can’t help it – we get caught up in our lives, wound up about issues, work, relationships and a thousand little things that build up throughout the day. And we can get weighed down by it all. Maybe we take ourselves a little too seriously sometimes too.
We talk about this in one of our coaching tools called “Lightness v. Significance”. We look at what happens when we become “significant”- and some ways to shift our perspective to a lighter, more positive one.
What is Significance? Here is a Buddhist tale that illustrates what happens when we become overly significant.
A young monk was traveling with an older monk. Along the way, they came to a stream where a beautiful woman was standing, afraid to cross. Without hesitating, the old monk picked her up, carried her over the water and placed her down safely on the other side. The young monk was shocked but said nothing. They walked on until they reached their destination. Finally, the young monk, who was so disturbed by what he had seen, could hold back no longer.
“Why,” he asked angrily, “ did you carry that young woman across the stream. We monks have rules – it is forbidden to touch women!” Read more »
