Wise Thing To Do

A violent and angry man goes to see a Teacher because he is fed up with his mind. He gives him a bowl and two bags. In one bag are black beads and in the other bag are white beads. He tells him to put a white bead in his bowl every time he thinks a healthy and positive thought or performs a good and wholesome act, and to put a black bead in the bowl every time he thinks unhealthy and negative thoughts or performs negative actions.

The man went away with his beads and bowl. To begin with, at the end of each day his bowl was overflowing with black beads and he was not happy.

'Look at all these black beads,' he sighed, 'I will try to do a little better tomorrow.'

Eventually, white beads began to show up in his bowl at the end of each day. He realized that he was getting a little better and that changing habits is possible and we need to be gentle, patient, kind and good to ourselves.

Remember to count your white beads as well as your black ones! We need to be patient with ourselves and others.