I think that everyone has said or done something, at some time, that they were sorry for. They were sorry as soon as it left their mouth or a short time later. I remember, not too long ago, I said something to a woman who was an acquaintance. What I said was addressed to the wrong woman. I had them mixed up. I was embarrassed and it bothered me for being so personally and socially ignorant. While driving home after the event where I made the blunder, I was still thinking about what an embarrassing and ignorant thing to do. I was really being down on myself. Finally, I came to my own defense and said to myself, ‘Hey, that was not a nuclear event; she has probably already forgotten about it.’ I let it go and was able to love myself again, just by putting it away from me. It reminded me of a story I had just read that week to the elderly at a local nursing home. I go there every Friday to read stories and jokes to a group of permanent residents.
It so happened that two monks were involved in an experience where the junior monk was taught an important lesson. The story goes as follows: “Two monks, a senior monk and a junior monk, were traveling together. At one point, they came to a river with a strong current. As the monks were preparing to cross the river, they saw a very young and beautiful woman also attempting to cross. The young woman asked if they could help her cross to the other side. The two monks glanced at one another because they had taken vows not to touch a woman. Then, without a word, the older monk picked up the woman, carried her across the river, placed her gently on the other side, and carried on his
journey. The younger monk couldn’t believe what had just happened. After rejoining his companion, he was speechless, and an hour passed without a word between them. Two more hours passed, then three, finally the younger monk couldn’t contain himself any longer, and blurted out, “As monks, we are not permitted to touch a woman, how could you then carry that woman on your shoulders?” The older monk looked at him and replied, “My good Brother, I set her down on the other side of the river, why are you still carrying her?” Errors, or what appear to be errors, or foolish, and inappropriate things happen in our lives more frequently than we want to remember. The things that we say or do, sometimes, even in jest, can offend another. Some of those offences can cause hard feelings between friends and even family members. Some of those feeling can be harbored for extended periods of time. We have to realize, as I did, that most events are not nuclear events, we will survive and live on. We could even ask ourselves as did the senior monk, “…why are you still carrying her?” All of us are guilty from time to time of silly blunders – so get over it, as I did – ‘love, yourself, even while you know you are not perfect. May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough blunders to keep you human, enough hope to make you a blessed soul.