One day Mark decided to get a Dog as his companion. Of all the breeds, Mark got a Great Dane. As the new owner, Mark took great care of the pup which was growing big very fast, fed him, took him for walks, regularly took him to see the vet, trained him, played with him, bathed him and loved him immensely. Slowly and gradually, they developed a very loving bond and soon they were famous in their neighbourhood for the bond they shared. The Gentle Giant and his Dad – kids loved playing with Caesar despite his size.
As time flew, Caesar now had become 2 years old and as usual Caesar was all excited for his walk with his Dad- that was Caesar’s favourite time. As the duo walked in style, Caesar’s attention was caught by this beautiful black Labrador which was on the other side of the road, and before Mark could realize, Caesar was pulling him along. Caught unaware, he soon found himself being dragged by Caesar and despite all his efforts to calm Caesar down and stop him from running so fast, he couldn’t!! Soon the beautiful walk became dreadful as there was threat to his and Caesar’s safety. At that very moment, a thought came to his mind – “Am I taking him out for a walk, or is he taking me out for a run! When did the tables turn?”
My teacher paused and continued..Mark is YOU and the Dog is YOUR LIFE. Very often it happens that we feel that we are being dragged by life and that time we all face the dilemma – what should we do? what choice do we have? Do we really have a choice?
Lesson No 1 : Just like Mark chose to get a pup, we all make the choices in our life. which professional field to pursue, the job we choose to be in, the relationships we have, the clothes we wear, the food we eat or not eat, our financial decisions, what kind of thoughts we have etc etc. There are absolutely NO CHOICELESS MOMENTS.
Lesson No 2 : Just like Mark had a mind, so did Caesar. Just like we have a mind of our own, other people around us too have a mind of their own. And we can’t control how they think or act or not act. Second, whilst we all have the power to make choices and act, we have no control over the outcome. So let go of the attachment to control over the outcomes.
Lesson No 3 : With all the external stimulants around us, requiring us to choose our actions – response vs reaction, we always have a choice. Know your choices. This is the time to ask yourself a very important question – are you leading life or is life leading you? Are you the master of your life or have you chosen to be the victim?
Next time before you say, but ” I did not have a choice”! Remember – there are NO CHOICELESS MOMENTS!