Life through Straws

Our life consist of many beliefs. Imaging each belief that you cling on to represents a straw, what you see through this straw represents your view of this world. But in reality, the world we exist is as boundless as the sky, but unfortunately, you can only see a small portion of the sky through that straw. Thus what you believe in will actually narrow what you see. Now, the more beliefs you cling onto, the broader the picture of this world you might be able to see because you have more straws, right? However, when you try to see the sky with all these straws at hand, you can no longer get a clear view of this world, instead you see the edges of the straws more than the actual view, the edges represent boundaries exist between your beliefs that will ultimately obscure your vision of this world.

The question is, how do you get the broadest view of this world?

In response, Professor Salzberg, a well known spiritual practitioner, simply said to put down all the straws. "When we have the courage to put down the straw and view the sky as it is, vast and unimpeded, then we can recognize the varied perspectives each straw gives us. We can recognize the difference between our very favorite straw, our most accustomed straw, out exquisitely preserved straw, and the sky itself. If we hold the straw skillfully, we will be able to put it down sometimes and look nakedly at the sky."

The important thing is not to have as many straws as possible, this does not give us a better picture of the world, but instead we must recognize that the world is as vast as sky, each straw you cling to has its limitations, therefore, it is critical to step outside the straws and be self-critical of your beliefs. You can hold on to them, but always keep in mind that the world in reality is boundless like a sky, we must have the courage to question our own dearest beliefs from time to time in order to not be restricted by them. When we have the courage to question our beliefs, we will become more critical and open-minded, and thus giving us faith to embrace sudden changes and uncertainly in our life.

保持開放 別自我設限
想突破就不能孤立自己
要嘗試從外界角度去看問題
未來很多領域將無界限
與其被迫改變 不如自我改變