THE ACTIVE LIFE, INSTRUCTIONS TO NANA AND PAPA

THE ACTIVE LIFE - "Do you feel trapped in your work, compelled to do work that may not be your first choice or work for which your employer is seeking to motivate you in ways that dismember your true identity?" 

This morning I purchased a book written by Parker Palmer called, "The Active Life". The author says we all go through a season of disillusionment, but he says it is a good thing, since the opposite would be to live our life in an illusion.  The book is based on this ancient story....

The Woodcarver

 Khing, the master carver, made a bell stand

Of precious wood. When it was finished,

All who saw it were astounded. They said it must be

The work of spirits.

The Prince of Lu said to the master carver:

“What is your secret?”

Khling replied: “I am only a workman:

I have no secret. There is only this:

When I began to think about the work you commanded

I guarded my spirit, did not expend it

On trifles, that were not to the point.

I fasted in order to set

My heart at rest.

After three days fasting, 

I had forgotten gain and success.

After five days

I had forgotten criticism.

After seven days

I had forgotten my body

With all its limbs.

“By this time all thought of your Highness

And of the court had faded away.

All that might distract me from the work

Had vanished.

I was collected in the single thought

Of the bell stand.

“Then I went to the forest

To see the trees in their own natural state.

When the right tree appeared before my eyes,

The bell stand also appeared in it, clearly, beyond doubt.

All I had to do was to put forth my hand

And begin.

“If I had not met this particular tree

There would have been

No bell stand at all.

“What happened?

My own collected thought

Encountered the hidden potential in the wood;

From this live encounter came the work

Which you ascribe to the spirits. 

The author reflects on this story in this way....

"Each action has a motive behind it. Khing is not making the bell stand out of some whimsical desire to create but in response to a command by the prince. He must do this to survive. This may not be the most desirable motivation for action but it is what is. 

However, once the action is set in motion, Khing has the freedom to choose how he will complete his task. He begins by fasting to cleanse himself of all the destructive pressures and motivations that will hinder him from authentically engaging his task. By forgetting the details of his present context he was able to re-member … join back together the authentic pieces of his identity … and act out of who he truly was."

*******************************************************************

Instructions to Nana and Papa - Before our granddaughter Hannah goes to the Outer Banks we always get detailed instructions like this ...

Dear Nana and Papa,

"Please take good care of my hermit crabs :)  Give them water please.  Also play with them.  I have 18, so be sure to count them.  If you can't find them all, some are hiding, but don't worry." 

Thanks.

Hannah Banana Hogan