The way we approach life is like laying a steel blade against a whetstone.
Lay it down flat and just give up, and nothing happens at all. The stone requires you to take action, by itself it can do nothing.
Raise it up and fight the stone, and you dull the edge of the blade and tear up the stone for no good reason.
But lay it down right, edge matched to the stone, using a light touch and a consistent steady motion, and the steel gains a razor-sharp edge, capable of cutting through any obstacle, and the stone will last nearly forever, capable of touching up the blade again and again for a lifetime.
It's all in the angle of your approach, the lightness of your grip, and the patience to understand that the same forces that make rough stones smooth in a river will also bring your blade's edge to the place it needs to be. Don't lose your patience, don't get mad at the stone for being a stone, and don't give up. You'll cut easily through the track of your life as you use the world as the whetstone of your soul.
Lay it down flat and just give up, and nothing happens at all. The stone requires you to take action, by itself it can do nothing.
Raise it up and fight the stone, and you dull the edge of the blade and tear up the stone for no good reason.
But lay it down right, edge matched to the stone, using a light touch and a consistent steady motion, and the steel gains a razor-sharp edge, capable of cutting through any obstacle, and the stone will last nearly forever, capable of touching up the blade again and again for a lifetime.
It's all in the angle of your approach, the lightness of your grip, and the patience to understand that the same forces that make rough stones smooth in a river will also bring your blade's edge to the place it needs to be. Don't lose your patience, don't get mad at the stone for being a stone, and don't give up. You'll cut easily through the track of your life as you use the world as the whetstone of your soul.
