Monday mindfulness Minute: Sharpen Your Axe

Once upon a time, there was a blacksmith who spent his days sharpening axes in a small village. This blacksmith was fortunate because he not only sharpened axes for sale, but he also spent any extra time he had sharpening a special axe that had been passed down through his family. But the more he sharpened, the worse he felt. He reached a point where he hated sharpening axes.

So one day, after months of throwing the idea around, he decides to go off on his own with nothing but a few items and his sharpened axe.

After wandering for a few days, he happens upon a band of tree cutters who make their living harvesting trees. They ask if he wants to join in, and he says, “Sure, but I’ve never done anything like this.” So they say step right up and offer him an axe.

As he steps up, he starts to hear a few folks in the crowd murmuring that he has no shot at this. “How could he possibly cut a tree down if he’s never done it before?” they all say. Hearing their doubts, he second-guesses himself and says, “You’re right, I’ve never cut down a tree, so how could I possibly do it?”

Hearing this, and sensing his self-doubt, one of the elders of the group walks over and says, “Just give it a shot. What’s the worst that can happen? You aren’t able to cut it down? Once you know this, you’ll have crossed one more thing off your list on your way to discovering your purpose here.”

The blacksmith contemplates this for a second and feels a strange energy inside. The elder says, “Somebody get this man an axe,” but the man explains how he already has one. “So which tree am I cutting down?” the blacksmith asks. The elder points to a tree that appears to the man to be 30 feet tall and 10 feet around. Trying to control his nerves, the man steps up to the tree.

He lifts the axe, and with the first swing, the axe glides through the timber, and the tree falls. The sound of the tree hitting the earth isn’t loud enough to overcome the gasps from the crowd.

Amazed, the man slowly backs away into the waiting arms of the astonished crowd. “So how did you manage to do that?” one person shouts. Another shouts, “We’ve found the messiah! A true superhero right here on earth.” The man tries to tell him the story of the axe being passed down and his days of sharpening when no one was looking but the crowd excitedly ignored that part of the legend. They wanted to see another “miracle.” 

Monday Mindfulness Minutes: Are you seeing 0s or Os?

CALL ME! NOW!

When you get this text from a family member, especially your mom, it's easy to let your mind immediately descend into the rabbit hole of thought. "Did someone die?" "Did the House burn down?" "Is there an impending zombie apocalypse?" Fortunately, I'd gotten enough texts like these from my mom over the years, so I paused before panicking.

It seemed like the phone didn't ring once before she answered, "I just can't believe it! I work so hard with your brother to help him make good grades in school, and he can't even do well in gym. He brought home his report card today, and he has a ZERO in gym. A ZERO! Can you believe that? How do you even get a 0?!?!?!?"

By this point in my life, I had worked with my thoughts and emotions enough to know better than to believe whatever presented itself first, so I listened patiently as she presented her case. While staying centered as I listened, my mind flashed to my middle school gym days, and it hit me.

"Mom, are you sure it's a 0?"

"What do you mean, am I sure? I'm looking right at it!"

"What if it's not a zero? What if it's an "O"?

The other end of the line suddenly got quiet. Sure enough, my mom checked with his teacher, and that's exactly what it was - my brother's gym class wasn't graded on a numeric rubric, but a simple Unsatisfactory/Satisfactory/Outstanding grading scale - he had earned the highest mark possible.

I don't share this story to slam my mom or her perspective; if anything, it serves as an important (and humorous) reminder to CONSTANTLY question how we look at situations. We have an abundance of opportunities every day to step back from our normal way of looking at life, which usually includes a bunch of dead ends (0s). Dead-end living is when we go with the first thought/emotion that we experience, without taking a pause to step back to imagine other possibilities.

Let's try to stand back and get a wider perspective on situations this week and see if we notice anything different. The quality of our life is not determined by what's outside, but by our perspective of it. It's up to us to see a life of 0s or a life of Os.

Monday Mindfulness Minute: Don't compare Seasons

"Comparison is the thief of joy."

Any opportunity to walk outside is special because it provides opportunities for nature to remind us of important life lessons. One such lesson was strengthened last summer as I walked my dog and spotted this tree.

This tree admittedly caught my attention because of its contrasting appearance to the surrounding trees. Whereas the majority were lush with green leaves, this one donned a sparse amount of orange leaves. It was almost as if the tree somehow mistook the signs of a chilly morning for Fall and prematurely initiated the process of shedding its leaves.

Put yourself in the roots of that tree for a second. Can you imagine the inner turmoil we would likely feel if we lost our leaves and stood naked when everyone else was green and “beautiful”? What struck me most about the tree was that it was just fine as it was. It wasn't screaming in agony about being different. It wasn't writing blogs about how it was a poor and victimized tree. The tree was completely at peace with experiencing whatever season it found itself in.

So what if Fall seemed to come a little early? It wasn't going to let its differing appearance stop it from living.  

So what if we find ourselves in a different season from our friends and family? Before we immediately freak out and attempt to conform to those around us, let us remember this tree and its courage in being where it was. Peace cannot be found in comparison and will only be found in being fully present wherever we find ourselves. Live your season!