“We’ve now returned to the trail. Kuan Yin knows where we’re heading. She has a stick in her hand.”
“It’s a directional tool. I would never hurt anything. Instead, I just touch one or the other flank, to instruct the elephant which way I want to go. One can’t just “hit life” and expect it will co-operate, go the way one wants. Maybe it will and maybe it won’t. You might have heard the sayings, “the path is the goal,” or “the journey is the goal.” These sayings are antithetical to the reality of living in your culture. Your culture is very “goal structured.” There is always a push to be “where one is supposed to be” rather than savoring where one is right now,” observes Kuan Yin. “This is cultural, not instinctual. Naturally, one needs a driving force to survive. However, the concept of having specific goals is very western. This kind of mindset makes people very ambitious. However, no one is obligated to live his life by this Western view of things. It’s important to have an idea of the path one wants to be on. This statement comes with the warning that one not be too attached to the outcome. To have a concept about the nature of one’s life path can be a skillful tool in living one’s life. However there is a danger that one will misconstrue a goal to be the entire purpose of one’s life and in so doing perhaps create a negative driving force. Don’t be too harsh on yourself concerning the choices you’ve made during your life. When one subtracts from the equation of life physical birth and death, one can regard lessons learned as forming an infinite line. Then one can say to himself, ‘I’m learning this right now’. Try to crystallize the components of the lesson, excluding as much as is possible gender and financial factors. Repeat to yourself: ‘this is the lesson I’m learning right now, at this exact moment in time.’
“Lena, you’re not always going to feel as though your life is so stagnant. In a year or so, things could dramatically change. Refuse to accept the belief that you don’t have options. Don’t lose sight of the vision you have for you and your family.”
