Accept Whatever Comes

An oak tree grew in a garden for more than forty years. Once summer a nearby rosebud began to unfold the glorious colours of its petals. The oak tree was tired of being the same dull shades of green and brown and longed to be as beautiful as the rose. One morning, when the rose was in its full glory, the tree told the rose of its desire to be like it. The rose in turn expressed its admiration for the height and the strength of the oak tree and told the tree that it would be most willing to change places for a day. And so with the aid of garden spirits, they did. That afternoon, a gardener came and cut the rose to take into the house.

Rather than long for that which we don't have, we must appreciate what we have and who we are. This restless longing after blind ambitions and senseless desires is a clear indication of discomfort. If one cannot be satisfied with the present, he/she can never be satisfied. Quite often, when we fulfill a certain desire, we feel that we are happy and satisfied, but soon enough, the "bigger and better" desires take control of us and we are in the same trap. We lead our entire lives in pursuit of these mundane desires only to repent at the end. To rationalize our actions, we often try to cheat ourselves by putting magnanimous intentions behind our actions; but no amounts of success can bring about a contentment in the present, peace with who we are, and joy in where we are. This comes with a journey from within.