Mindfulness Meditation (For Everyday Life)

to be found," and he proceeds to tell him where it is
and how he is to go about getting it, which is quite
complicated. This brother listens carefully and
remembers what he is told.
This richly crafted tale takes many turns in its
unfolding, which I will leave to the interested reader to
explore. The point here is simply that it is useful at
times to admit to yourself that you don't know your
way and to be open to help from unexpected places.
Doing this makes available to you inner and outer
energies and allies that arise out of your own
soulfulness and selflessness. Of course, the selfish
brothers are also internal figures of the psyche. The
message is that getting caught up in the normal
human tendencies of self-cherishing and arrogance,
and ignoring the larger order of things, will ultimately
lead to an impasse in your life in which you are
unable to go forward, unable to go back, and unable
to turn around. The story says you will never find the
water of life with such an attitude, and that you will
remain stuck, potentially forever.
The work of mindfulness demands honoring and
heeding our own dwarf energy, rather than rushing
headlong into things with a mind that is sorely out of
touch with large parts of ourself, a mind driven by
narrow ambition and ideas of personal gain. The