The magnificent flying goose

The enchanting meadows were a sight to behold, and as the two monks walked through them on their way to their monastery, the elder among them walked slowly, soaking in the mesmerising beauty. The younger monk was frustrated as he had to slow down to keep pace with his fellow monk. The stones getting stuck in his sandals added to his irritation. That’s when he heard the elder monk calling out his name in a rather hushed voice. However, the younger monk was busy clearing the stones from his sandals and didn’t bother to respond.

Looking at the sky, the elder monk stood mesmerised. With the sky acting as a resplendent background, a solitary goose soared in all its majesty. The goose flew with a seldom-seem flourish, diving down, then rising high, while enjoying each moment as if it were the last. The elder monk had never seen a solitary goose in the sky since geese usually fly in groups in their famous V formation. It was a rare sight, and he didn’t want his fellow monk to miss it, so he whispered the young monk’s name again and asked him to look up in the sky. He didn’t want to raise his voice lest it distract the goose.

When the young monk rid his sandals of stones, he exasperatedly asked the elder monk, ‘What happened? What did you want me to see?’ The elder monk shook his head and said, ‘Nothing,’ as the goose had flown far away.

This happens to us all the time. The elder monk is a representative of life that keeps calling us to watch nature in all its pristine beauty. However, we miss innumerable precious moments of life, busy as we are in fretting over smaller issues of life. We are oblivious to life unravelling itself in astounding glory every moment.

Agreed, we need to attend to the problems at hand. However, be cognisant of the fact that the memorable moments in life are passing by even as we don’t just address our problems, but keep constantly brooding over them. While we talk about work-life balance, we somehow miss the magical mantra of life, which lies in the answer to the question we need to ask ourselves: Is it possible to remove the stones from the sandal (in other words, tackle pressing issues of life) while admiring the flying goose (i.e., the wonders of life)? Think about it!

While we talk about work-life balance, we somehow miss the magical mantra of life. We need to ask ourselves: Is it possible to tackle pressing issues at hand while admiring the wonders of life? Think about it!