difference between the cost of things and the price of things. The COST of a new smart phone, for example, is about $400, but the PRICE is about two weeks of work (if your salary is similar to mine).
I get a lot of e-mail from people who say things like, “I really hate my job and want to simplify my life, but I NEED this job to pay for my car insurance, car payment, cell phone bill, mortgage, living expenses, etc.” My answer simply reflects back that the smart phone, car payments and other extras are all choices that we make, and the price we pay for those things isn’t in dollar value so much as what we have to DO in order to pay for them.
Go a whole day without complaining—then a lifetime!
One day you will wake up and there won’t be any more time to do the things you’ve always wanted to do. Do them now! —Paulo Coelho
A Simple Life
My dad told me this story when I was a little kid, and even though many of us have heard it before (it was originally told by Heinrich Böll), I believe it deserves to be regularly shared, especially at every high school graduation around the world. Enjoy!
One summer, many years ago, a banker was vacationing in a small village on the coast. He saw a fisherman in a small boat by the pier with a handful of fish that he had just caught. The businessman asked him how long it took him to catch the fish, and the man said he was out on the water for only a couple of hours.
“So why didn’t you stay out there longer to catch more fish?” asked the businessman.
The fisherman said he catches just enough to feed his family every day, and then comes back.
“But it’s only 2 p.m.!” said the banker, “What do you do with the rest of your time?”
The fisherman smiled and said, “Well, I sleep late every day, then fish a little, go home, play with my children, take a nap in the afternoon, then stroll into the village each evening with my wife, relax, play the guitar with our friends, laugh and sing late into the night. I have a full and wonderful life.”
The banker scoffed at the young man, “Well, I’m a businessman from New York! Let me tell you what you should do instead of wasting your life like this! You should catch more fish to sell to others, and then buy a bigger boat with the money you make so you can catch even more fish!”
“And then what?” asked the fisherman. The banker’s eyes got all big as he enthusiastically explained, “You can then buy a whole fleet of fishing boats, run a business, and make a ton of money!”
“And then what?” asked the fisherman again, and the banker threw his hands in the air and said, “You’d be worth a million! You can then leave this small town, move to the city, and manage your enterprise from there!”
“How long would all this take?” asked the fisherman. “Fifteen to twenty years!” replied the banker.
“And then what?”
The banker laughed and said, “That’s the best part. You can then sell your business, move to a small village, sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take naps in the afternoon, go for an evening stroll with your wife after dinner, relax, sing, and play the guitar with your friends. You would have a full and wonderful life!”
The fisherman smiled at the banker, quietly gathered his catch, and walked away.
Live simply so that others may simply live. —Gandhi
Knowing Is Not Even Half the Battle
You never make the same mistake twice. The second time you make it, it’s no longer a mistake; it’s a choice. What we essentially are is a series of bad decisions.
If knowing alone made us wise, then every senior citizen would be a Zen master. Attaining realization is not about what we know, but what we do with that knowledge. Meditating for sentient beings to be freed of their suffering doesn’t make you a Buddhist any more than simply thinking about buying a lottery ticket makes you a millionaire. So treat every person in need as an invitation to be of service, and then you’ll
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