A student.
Once asked a monk.
What's the difference before enlightenment?
And after.
The monk replied,
Before enlightenment.
Chopped wood.
Carry water.
After Enlightenment.
Chop wood.
Carry water.
The student looked confused.
So the monk added.
Before enlightenment.
You carry it with tension.
After enlightenment.
You carry it with peace.
How do you?
Carry life.
At first.
Tension.
Is functional.
It tightens to prepare.
It braces to stay safe.
It holds everything together.
So nothing falls apart.
But over time.
The body forgets.
There is a difference.
Between awareness and thought.
Hypervigilance.
And eventually.
.
.
Hypervigilance.
Becomes the norm.
The alarm system that once protected you.
Forgets.
How to turn itself off.
And the message becomes I must stay ready.
Just.
In case.
And as a result,
The body tightens.
The breath shortens.
And rest begins to feel.
Unfamiliar.
But what of all of your what-ifs?
Are simply invitations back.
To what now?
How is your body carrying itself?
In this moment.
Are your eyes still searching ahead?
Is your jaw tightening?
Preparing itself for what to say next.
Is your stomach pulling inward?
Because it thinks it cannot relax yet.
And are your hips still bracing?
As if life must always be carried with force.
The monk still carried the water.
He simply stopped caring.
Tomorrow with it.
Perhaps peace is not the absence of responsibility.
But the absence of unnecessary holding.
For these next few moments.
Hold.
Nothing.
Together.
Feel the rise and fall of your breath.
Moving like waves.
Through the back of your body.
Feel the inhale gently creating space.
On the exhale,
Loosening.
Effort.
And notice the space.
Below.
Thank you.
The part of you that existed.
Before tension.
Became a strategy.
Here effort is unnecessary.
Here your body does not need to hold itself up.
Held by the ground beneath you.
Held by the air.
Surrounding you.
Breathing instead.
Of preparing.
Same.
Life.
Softer.
Same.
Life.
Softer.
Notice.
The world did not collapse while you softened.
Your body breathes.
The ground held you.
A moment continued without force.
Perhaps this is the difference the monk meant.
Not a different life.
But a different relationship.
To carry in it.
So what now?
My friend.
Carrie.
Water.
And hold.
Less.
Male mind,
Body.
And spirit.
Be abundant with peace.
As you carry life.
With a softer grip.
Today and every day.
Until next time.
Namaste.
