Possibilities

There is a saying in the Far East that, “If your mind is put possibilities, you will always succeed in life”. Do you agree with this? I do, for this reason: when you start to work, if you allow possibilities into your mind you can imagine other possibilities. Like this, it is possible that you will always succeed in your life. On the other hand, if you deny possibilities at the beginning, you will always fail in life. Therefore, at the beginning, we need to open our mind to learn and practice a way of life. If we allow ourselves to fully experience all moments of life, we will see how to live a happy life. But if we block ourselves from learning and practice, we will not know the reality of life. Our mind will be clouded by ignorance, the unknown.

“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few”, said Zen Master Suzuki. It is true because if you think you are an expert, you know it all, and then your ego prevents you from learning and practicing a new way of life. The new experience that you block may give you some insight into the realization of a happy way of living. There is a Zen story about this. Here is the story:

A professor once visited a Japanese master to inquire about Zen. The master served him tea. When the visitor’s cup was full, the master kept pouring. Tea spilled out of the cup and over the table.

“The cup is full!” said the professor. “No more will go in!”

“Like this cup,” said the master, “You are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your mind, your cup?”

You can see how this story applies to opening the mind to the unknown, which means learning and practicing a new way of life.

We can learn more if our mind is open; the mind is the gate to all knowledge. If we close our gate at the beginning, knowledge cannot come to our mind. Then our mind is dark, clouded, complicated, unclear etc. So open up your mind and welcome new knowledge into your life. In this way our lives will be brilliant and happy.

There are possibilities for each one of us to live a happy life. Do you believe this?