take things easy, let it go

How often we can really take things easy or let things go? When there's a problem that bothers you, it is not easy to let it go or even take it easy. It is often easy to say in this way " Take it easy" but the fact, it is not. Probably it is our mindset, we always hope things to be done in a perfect manner, the way we want. We become directly or indirectly forcing the way things going to be. We care too much, too preoccupied with all the gains and losses.

Imagine when you are worry and afraid of taking examination, you keep thinking about it, worry about it. All the sleepless nights, can't memorise anything. End up you did not do well in your examination. If just treat the examination like the usual worksheet that you will doing, it will be another scenario. When a couple are quarrelling, often both parties always tend to say hurtful things which they don't mean to. If both take it too hard, they might end up divorce cause both parties don't want to take a step out, let it go.

Once there was this old man who told me this story. Long time ago, there were a abbot and a junior monk who lived in the monastery. Every morning, they walked to the village for their food in the early morning. This morning was the same for their usual alms. As they walked along the downstream, they saw a lady groaning in pain. The abbot walked forward to find out what's wrong with the lady. She had sprained her leg as she was walking back after washing her clothes downstream. She asked the abbot if he could carry her back to the village. "Come on, girl," said the abbot. Lifting her in his arms, he carried her. The junior monk did not speak again until that night when they back at the monastery. Then he no longer could restrain himself. "We monks don't go near females," he said. "Why did you do that?" "It is impossible to leave the lady there alone. It is dangerous. When I let her down, I had let go. ," the abbot said. "But why are you still carrying her?"

How often we are this junior monk, who can't take things easy and letting it go. If we are holding a stone in our hand for awhile, it is light. But if we are holding it for 10 hours, it becomes heavy, a burden for us. In life, we are just like the junior monk who are always carrying a lady on our back or holding a stone in our hand. We can't take things easy and learn to let it go. Maybe in another point of view, we could be like the abbot, by letting the lady down, letting go. When all these while, we are just forgetting that we could also take it easy, let it go.