Our Choice

“Why do you stay in prison when the door is so wide open?” Rumi

There is a short story that Sadhguru shares in his book, ‘Karma,’ a yogi’s guide to crafting your destiny.

On a certain day, a man named Shankaran Pillai went to the bar. He parked his donkey outside, (which happened to be his mode of transport).

After downing a few drinks, he came out and discovered that someone had painted his donkey red. Pillai was a very frail man, but now, with a couple of drinks inside him, he felt big and strong.

He flew into a rage, strode back to the bar, kicked the doors open, and stood glaring at everyone seated there.

‘Who painted my donkey red?’ he snarled.

A huge man, well over six feet tall, loomed up in a corner. ‘I did,’ he said.

Pillai’s manner changed instantly. He stepped back, cleared his throat, and said politely, ‘Sir, my donkey is now ready for its second coat.’

This short story although humorous, gives way to the understanding that no matter what we are experiencing in life, we choose how we respond. Whether we choose to respond in a way to save our life, or choose to respond for the greater good, or choose to respond to protect our ego and vulnerability.

Either way, it will never be what is happening to us that will cause suffering, but rather, the way we are responding to what is happening to us.

18 thoughts on “Our Choice

  1. Love this post, Karen. It’s so true that it’s how we choose to respond to circumstances rather than the circumstances themselves. Very timely with what I’ve been experiencing and learning lately in my life.

  2. Interesting story. We can’t control what’s going happen around us but we can control our actions and how we respond to things in our life. Love the quote too. Would mind to visit my blog? Thank you 🙂

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