One day a young Buddhist on his journey home came to the banks of a wide river. Staring hopelessly at the great obstacle in front of him, he pondered for hours on just how to cross such a wide barrier. Just as he was about to give up his pursuit to continue his journey he saw his teacher on the other side of the river. The young Buddhist yells over to the teacher, “Oh wise one, can you tell me how to get to the other side of this river”?
The teacher ponders for a moment looks up and down the river and yells back, “My son, you are on the other side”.
Moral: As human beings, it seems as though we are constantly trying to get somewhere. More stuff, a better job, next vacation, I think we can all relate to the young Buddhist in this Zen story about the other side. It is almost as if we are shouting to the world, How do I get OVER THERE? Or more implicitly, right HERE is not enough so how do I get over THERE? Therein lies the beautiful message of the story. We are already there. There is nowhere to get to. Life is beautiful right where we are at. This moment is perfect exactly how it is. Life unfolds the way it unfolds. Our context, our view of this world will be our experience.