Thought for the Week

Timothy D. Stein, MFT, CSAT

December 10, 2012

Two Monks

Two monks, an older monk and his younger disciple, came to a river and prepared to cross.  A young maiden came along and asked for their help in crossing the river.  The older monk took the maiden on his back and carried her across.  The maiden thanked the monk and continued on her way.  As the two monks continued their journey, the young disciple thought about the older monk carrying the maiden across the river until this thought preoccupied him, pushing all other thoughts out of his head.  Eventually, the young disciple could hold his tongue no longer and berated the older monk, saying it was inappropriate for a man of God to have such close physical contact with a maiden.  The older monk simply replied, “My young friend, I carried her across the river.  You have carried her ever since!”

What do I continue to carry in my head that takes me away from what is happening in my life?  What would happen if I let go of my preoccupations and focused on the here and now?