Positive Inspirational Stories

Featured Inspirational Story - December 2017

Calming the muddy waters

A wise man was walking from one town to another with a few of his followers and they happened to pass a lake. So they stopped there to rest for a while and the wise man said to one of his followers . . . I am very thirsty, could you please go and get me some water from that lake.

As requested the follower walked to the lake and when he reached it, he noticed that some people were washing clothes in the water, and right at that moment, several bullock carts started crossing the lake. As a result of this, the water became very muddy and murky. The follower thought, how can I give this muddy water to my leader to drink? So he went back and told the wise man that the water in the lake was very muddy and not fit to drink. 

After they had rested for about half an hour, the wise man again asked the same follower to go back to the lake and get him some water to drink. The follower obediently went to the edge of the lake and this time he found that all the mud had settled to the bottom and the water above it was crystal clear and looked fit to drink. So he filled his water bottle and took it to the wise man.

The wise man took the water bottle and drank, and then he looked up at the follower and said . . .  see what you did to make the water clean and fit to drink, you let it be for a while and the mud settled down on its own so that could then get some clear drinking water for me.

Your mind can also be like that lake when it is disturbed about something, but if you just let it be and give it a little time, it will most likely settle down on its own without you having to put in any effort at all to calm it.

Author Unknown

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