Letter 35: Throwing a stone vs a diamond in Lake: to watch the Moon : A story

It was 3:00 AM, and I was heading to catch my early morning flight.

Day 35 of 75HARD :

This trip was a leap of faith for me—one I wasn't supposed to take as every aspect of my life told me to "Let Go" but something inside urged me to give it another shot.

With a failing aspect and life's detours bringing me face to face with realities of people, I still believed there was something good for me. However, life had other plans.

As they say, Life happens when we're busy making plans

The conversation began when my cab driver posed an intriguing question:

"Sir, I want to ask, can I buy Time if I have money?" he asked.

"How?" I inquired.

"I make 2500 Rs per day, and if I take a leave, I lose this money. If I had money, I would have worked on some other important things in life."

"What other important things would you do—make more money?" I questioned.

He responded thoughtfully, "Sir, I meet a lot of people like you. I believe you all have made money and have been able to buy facilities and convenience, but not time."

In his words: "Sahuliyat khareed rahein hain aap taki aur busy ho sakein." (You're buying conveniences just to become busier.)        

Surprised by his wisdom, I asked, "So what do you want to do in Life?"

He shared a profound metaphor:

"Sir, there is a lake, and at night I go there. When I throw a stone, it generates currents in the lake. Now imagine I get a diamond and throw it in—it generates the same currents. Is there any difference between the currents generated by the stone versus the diamond?"

"Maybe due to different weights, I tried to sound intelligent but realised it was not needed, so I said honestly, Actually... no, I don't think so. It would be the same," I replied.

"Yes," he continued. "So if you want to show the world that you throw stones versus others throwing diamonds, you may work hard.

But what if all I want to see is the reflection of the moon on the lake, which is nature's intent?"

He concluded with a powerful insight: "Sir, I no longer want to upset the lake. I want to see the moon's reflection on lake and I no longer find the game of diamond vs stone worth the effort.

Are you going to meet someone Sir? He asked

Yes, I am- I said

Are they waiting for you? He asked

No, I don't think so.

Then Sir, if I may say, " Let the reflection of moon come by itself, stop giving the lake diamond or the stone. It never works".

Entire flight I kept thinking about this analogy & when I reached I found out.......

The story continues to reveal new layers of beauty in its simplicity and depth when I rearead it again and again.

What do you think is the take away for you. :)