The Joy Of Practice XI
PRACTICE MEANS: FOLLOW YOUR OWN PATH
A man wanted to perform a simple task. He wanted to mail a letter. Since he didn´t trust the mailboxes on the street being emptied on time, he decided to deliver the letter to the post office himself. He knew the way and so he took off.
To mail a letter didn´t really seem like an adventure to the man. Nor would it seem to you and me, right? Anyway, this particular time it became an adventure. An adventure which led the man – his name was Joey – to completely new insights, and those insights led to new actions, and those actions brought him a different life.
When Joey went to deliver his letter he didn´t have any doubts about the way to the post office. It wasn´t the first time he went there.
Neither was the letter any special letter. It was addressed to his daughter who was studying in a city far away. From time to time Joey send her his love and, yes, also some money. He knew she was working in the evenings in a bar to support herself. Still he thought some extra money couldn´t hurt.
Anyway, Joey took off and was immersed in his thoughts when he met a neighbour asking him about the latest news in the house: aother neighbour had become seriously ill and was probably going to die. Joey denied that he heard anything about it. He was quite shocked from what the man told him. He knew that woman for many years and now he wasn´t even aware about what had happened to her.
When he continued his way he had mixed feelings. Should he go home and ask the neighbour if she needed something? What would people think about him if he wouldn’t? Would they see him as a cruel person only thinking about himself? Could he postpone bringing the letter for his daughter? His heart told him that he couldn´t. Still he found the whole situation very disturbing.
So involved in his reflections he hadn´t noticed that he had taken the wrong way. Actually he had entered a dead end street which he discovered only when he had come to its end. What a waste of time and energy! Joey got angry about himself. He felt silly. But what could he do other than correct his way and go back?
And so he did. Since he felt that he had made a stupid mistake he looked for a way to regain time. (He also wanted to boost his self esteem). While tracing his way back he discovered an open alley between two houses that according to his assumptions would lead to the main road he had left. So he followed that path. After ten minutes or so he suddenly met a man who stopped him.
“Where do you want to go?” asked the man suspiciously.
“I lost my way while on bringing a letter to the post office,” Joey replied truthfully.
The man looked at him even more suspicious.
“You lost your way to the post office? How can that happen? Anyway, this is not your way. This is not a public way,and so I ask you to return to where you came from.”
“Pardon me,” Joey mumbled and stumbled his way back.
What was going on here? How could he get so distracted that such a simple task could become so complicated?
But all selfpity didn´t lead anywhere. That he knew. He went back to the dead end street and from there he had to go back to the main road. He was sweating but he did it. He wanted to get the letter mailed today.
Finally he got back on track and took a fresh breath. Well, ok, he had lost some time but from now on he would just be focussed and that would be it. Following the main road he suddenly felt how it started to rain heavily. That came as an unexpected surprise and Joey was not prepared for it. He looked for shelter and saw a coffee bar right opposite the street. He crossed the street running and nearly jumped into the bar, causing some guests to throw some disapproving looks in his direction.
Joey ordered a coffee and waited at the bar for the rain to stop. Why hadn´t he watch the weather report in TV?, he said to himself. Well, he didn´t ! And that was it. He thought about his daughter and his mood lightened up. She was worth that bit of rain, wasn´t she?
A young woman was standing next to him on the bar . She was probably about the age of Joey’s daughter, dressed in a business suit. Mary wouldn´t wear this, he thought, she was too much of a bohemian type. But who could know for sure?
“Did you try to escape the rain?” the woman asked him while slurping her coffee. She looked more curious than friendly. Just matter of fact, Joey thought, that´s how they are those biz people.
“As a matter of fact I do,” he replied. “I was going to to mail a letter to my daughter. On the way to the post office I got somehow distracted and finally the rain caught me. ”
“Well, Mister, if you want to speed up your journey, I am going to the post office right now. My car is waiting outside and if you want you can accompany me.”
“Thanks, very kind of you, I accept,” Joey said somewhat ashamed about his former judgements.
“Ok, let´s go,” she said while paying for the two coffees.
“Oh, don´t worry about that,” she replied when he wanted to thank her for the coffee.
While driving they had an interesting conversation about kids and business, about focus and intention, and about the heart she said she wanted to follow. “And I see that you are doing that, too,” she said with a smile. “Your daughter is lucky!”
After he had left the car he was wondering how fast his luck had changed. He congratulated himself for not giving in to his prejudices and mailed his letter. Afterwards in front of the post office he thought about what he had actually learned in this everyday adventure.
When he looked at his watch he noticed that he had actually gained time! Inspite of his worries, assumptions and mistakes, his heartfelt intention was so strong that he got everything done earlier than he had thought. He thought about Mary and enjoyed entertaining himself with imaginations about what could happen to him on his way back home . . .
* * *
Practice is following your own path, learning while you go and enjoy the journey. Nobody walked your way before and will ever do so. What you learn is what is specifically designed for you to learn. Nothing can go wrong if you accept the lessons and continue your path in gratitude. Your path is personal. The only real mistake you can make is to deny walking it.
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