In: Blog
12 Feb 2010I do a lot of reading outside of Fitness and Health related content, probably much to your surprise. I read something today that really got me thinking and i wanted to share it with ya’ll. Take a couple minutes to reflect on this and post thoughts below. Here is the post in its entirety and here is the link:
http://www.warriorofthelight.com/
Issue nº 217
Understanding the enemy
The enemy without
My reader Murali from India tells the story of a girl who decided to climb a mountain to visit her grandmother. It was pouring with rain, a cold wind was blowing, and thunder rolled at each second.
When she was almost reaching her destination, she felt something brushing against her feet. Looking down, she saw that it was a snake.
“I’m almost dying,” said the snake. “It’s very cold and there’s no food up here on this mountain, please protect me! Put me under your coat, save my life, and I will be your best friend.”
Despite the storm, the girl stopped and began to reflect. She saw the snake’s green and gold skin and told herself that she had never seen anything so beautiful. She thought how her classmates would envy her if she showed up with a snake to defend her from everything. Finally she said:
“All right. I am going to save you because all living beings deserve care and affection.”
The snake became the girl’s friend, served to scare aggressive people at school, and kept her company on lonely days. Until one night when she was doing her homework and she felt a sharp pain in her right foot. On looking down, she saw that the snake had bitten her.
“You’re poisonous!” she cried. “I’m going to die!”
The snake said nothing.
“How could you do this to me? I saved your life!”
“On that day, when you bent down to save me, you knew I was a snake, didn’t you?”
And he slithered slowly away.
The enemy within
Nasrudin saw a man sitting at the side of a road looking utterly desolated.
“What’s bothering you?” he asked.
“My brother, there is nothing interesting in my life. I have enough money not to need to work, and I was traveling to see if there was anything curious in the world. But everyone I have met has nothing new to say to me, all they do is make me more bored.
“In a word, I can tell you without any fear of doubt that despite all that I have done, I haven’t managed to find the peace I sought. I have turned into my own worst enemy.”
At that very moment, Nasrudin grabbed the man’s bag and ran off down the road. Since he knew the region well, he quickly managed to set a considerable distance from the man by taking shortcuts through the fields and over the hills.
When he was far enough away, he put the bag down in the middle of the road where the traveler was bound to pass, and hid behind a rock. The man appeared half an hour later, feeling more miserable than ever because of the thief he had come across.
As soon as he caught sight of the bag, he ran to open it, breathless. Upon seeing that everything was intact, he looked up to the sky full of joy and thanked the Lord for life.
“Certain people only realize the taste of happiness when they manage to lose it,” thought Nasrudin, looking at the scene before his eyes.
Don’t forget to get signed up for the Black Box Summit. April 24-25 at Catalyst Athletcis in Sunnyvale CA.
Also, Do you want to attend one of my last Performance Development seminars?!? Sign up here.

9 Responses to Metaphysics
Edward Stedman
February 12th, 2010 at 9:50 am
Dutch, why aren’t you doing anymore of your seminars?
Greg Halmi
February 12th, 2010 at 11:08 am
Whenever a man desires anything inordinately, at once he becomes restless. A proud and avaricious man is never at rest; but a poor and humble man enjoys the riches of peace. A man who is not yet perfectly dead to self is easily tempted, and is overcome even in small and trifling things. And he who is weak in spirit, and still a prey to the senses and bodily passions, can only with great difficulty free himself from worldly lusts.
Therefore he is sad when he does so withdraw himself, and is quickly angered when anyone opposes him. Yet, if he obtains what he desires, his conscience is at once stricken by remorse, because he has yielded to his passion, which in no way helps him in his search for peace.
True peace of heart can be found only by resisting the passions, not by yielding to them. There is no peace in the heart of a worldly man, who is entirely given to outward affairs; but only in a fervent, spiritual man.
Greg Halmi
February 12th, 2010 at 11:09 am
A short piece from The Inner Life by Thomas aKempis a 15th century monk.
dutch
February 12th, 2010 at 11:43 am
Edward,
I am getting very busy and starting to enjoy my time at home. I am also trying to settle into more of a rhythm and taking my personal life to places where i want to feel more grounded.
Greg,
Very eloquent. I like it.
Elia
February 12th, 2010 at 2:40 pm
I feel like I am the snake, is that my fault or the person who helps me?
dutch
February 12th, 2010 at 3:04 pm
it’s not your fault, just your nature…
Nichole D
February 12th, 2010 at 11:32 pm
Absolutely wonderful post. Thank you for sharing this piece.
David Nichols
February 16th, 2010 at 7:49 am
Good stuff Dutch. I think we need to spend quality time assessing what snakes we are all playing with. Unfortunately, we all have snakes in every aspect of our lives. But very FORTUNATELY someone came to help us remove those snakes.
I firmly believe self-reflection is very important in staying on track with life. No one can deny the rhythm of life, nor can they deny we constantly find ourselves fighting the rhythm. Don’t fight it, join it.
just my two cents.
david
Ddeaton
February 16th, 2010 at 10:00 am
Seek the source and the rest falls into place…We sometimes want to deny the source of our existence, but it is somewhat like many of the other physical laws in the universe. We can deny it all we want, but it still does not change the fact that gravity exist. The last time I checked, power is still equal to work/time. And we are still governed by its laws. I am not a great philosopher or profit, but I know one who is…