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Anthology: A Collections of Flowers by Shiva

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Leaves

The large tree was fully leafed when the storm came up and the wind blew. The strong winds blew through the branches. The leaves caught the wind and the whole tree was almost uprooted. Several branches were broken and the tree was injured.

In late fall the autumn storm came and once again the wind blew through the tree. As the strong wind once again blew through the branches, the tree let go of most of its leaves. The wind carried the leaves away and the branches barely moved in the wind. The tree itself stood strong and hardly moved at all.

In the dead of winter, the storm once again blew across the land. The icy wind whistled through the branches. Because there were no leaves, the tree did not move at all, even the branches themselves hardly moved. The wind came and left. The tree stood undisturbed.

Leaves Commentary

The Buddha said "All suffering comes from attachments."

Our attachments once may have been beneficial and necessary, but attachments are always transitory. As we evolve we learn to quit holding on to them so tightly and know when it is time to let go. The wind will take them away when they are no longer needed.

A first step occurs when we finally reach the realization that our attachments are what have caused us pain. This realization in and of itself does not relieve us of the pain.

The leaves in this story represent those attachments that are ego oriented. We will still suffer until we start addressing our issues and the reasons for these attachments. Then we can set a course of action that will allow us to start actually letting go of them.

It is only when we are free of our attachments that we can stand the winds of change and be free to experience the earth and sky unaffected.

 

   
       

 

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