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A king was very worried about security and safety. He made a special palace with only one door so nobody could enter. And at the door there were guards: guards upon guards. There were seven lines of guards, so nobody from among the guards could do anything.
One of the neighboring kings heard of this; he came to see. He loved the house, and when they were departing, the visiting king said, “I would also like to make such a palace – this is really safe, secure.” At that moment a beggar sitting by the side of the street started laughing.
Both kings asked, “Why are you laughing?”
He said, “It is a long story, but to cut it short I will tell you the most essential part of it. I was also a king once, I was also worried about safety and security. Then I lost my kingdom and I lost my home, and since then I have been a beggar, and I am not worried about security or safety. By being a beggar, I found what I was missing in being a king.
“And thirdly, I have a suggestion for you. Your palace is beautiful – I have been watching it being built; you have made every possible effort to make it absolutely safe – just one thing is wrong with it.”
The owner of the palace asked, “What is that?”
The beggar said, “You do one thing: you go in and tell your people to remove the door, and make a wall. Then you will be absolutely secure, one hundred percent… because these seven lines of guards are not one hundred percent sure.”
The king said, “You seem to be mad! If I enclose myself only with walls – no way to go out, no way to come in – it will become just a grave.”
The beggar said, “That’s what you have made – a grave with a door, nothing much. Just look at me: there is no grave. And I am happy that I lost my kingdom and I lost everything that I had, because it was hiding my moment-to-moment reality from me.”
Life is unsafe, insecure – you can die any moment – so why be worried about it? All that you need is to live as totally as possible while you are living. |
10 Secrets to a Balanced, Successful & Happy Life 