all the time
in my continuing research and studying of buddhism ive come across a story that has really struck a chord in me. its simple, and has helped me alot. here it is, massively paraphrased.
two men are at a football game. the game is very exciting, packed with fans, and everyone is cheering out of their seats. every single person there is completely enthralled with whats happening on the field. nobody is on their phones, or having side conversations, its all focused on one thing.
the first man, in all the excitment, accidentally burns the other man with his cigarette. it burns a hole clear through his shirt and touches his skin. “Ouch! That hurt!” yells the 2nd man. The first man yells over the roaring crowd “Sorry! i didnt mean to!”. The 2nd man quickly respondes with a smile on his face, “Dont worry about it! I’ll buy another one later.” and they both immediately go back to being a part of watching the game, yelling and applauding together.
now imagine the same thing happened, but there was no game. these two men were just walking down the street. had one burned the other, with no game going on to distract them, its very possible a fight might have broken out, likely nasty words would be said, and definitely negative thoughts would brew on both sides. those negative thoughts would then seep into other aspects of their day, ruining more than just the quick moment of a cigarette burn, and a cycle of negativity has been started, however small.
so whats the difference? in the first example they have something else to engage in. they are so excited to be a small part of something bigger than themselves. they realize that we are all in this together, and the little things like a shirt or a quick burn aren’t going to matter in the long run, they are all impermanent anyway. but we are always like that. we are always a part of something bigger. we shouldn’t need a football game (or any other such similar event) to give us that chance. walking down the street is just as much being a part of something bigger than yourself as is being in sold out Madison Square Garden.
i hope to behave like i am in the middle of something bigger, because we are. i want to be like the man in that story, all the time.
