Boulders

About seven years ago, I took an online class with Jack Kornfield, a well-known mindfulness and meditation teacher. He shared a story about a great lesson he learned while training to be a monk. I still think about his story and wanted to share it with you this week.

One day, a priest was leading Jack and other students on a walk around the monastery. Then the priest stopped walking and pointed to a large boulder. 

He asked the monks, “Is that boulder heavy?”  

They replied, “Yes of course it is, Master.”  

The priest said, “Not if you don’t pick it up.”

Jack used this as a teaching illustration of how our worries are a lot like that boulder. When we pick up a worry and carry it around, it gets heavier and heavier.

The worry itself is just a thought, it only gets heavy when we pick it up and carry it around. 

Think about some of the worries in your life right now. Boulders of all sizes. Are there boulders you don’t need to carry today? Notice the relief your mind feels in just playing around with the imagery of placing them back on the ground. 

Next time you see a boulder of worry, consider: How will I feel if I pick it up and carry it around? How might I feel if I don’t pick it up? 

Maybe a helpful mantra could be, “I’m not picking up that one today.” 

I was watching both of my children sing together on stage at their Baccalaureate ceremony this weekend. My son is a graduating senior and my daughter is a junior. I noticed a thought creeping in: this is the last time they will be on stage together. But, I chose to not pick up that boulder right then. Picking it up would have erased my joy of watching them perform. That heaviness would have taken away the warm love I felt for them and turned it into sadness. I decided to stay in the moment of joy and let that boulder sit there for a while without my attention. I might pick it up later, or I may never pick it up, but in that moment, I chose the love of watching two talented kids do their thing. 

We don’t have to pick up every heavy thought and carry it all day.

The current circumstances we are living in this nation and world are heavy. Many current situations are big boulders of awful. Some boulders we have to carry, but are we picking up others that aren’t necessary for us to carry? When we watch the news, talk about it, fret, wonder, worry…it gets really really heavy. When we stop consuming information, we feel a little lighter. 

Ask yourself which boulders in your life are optional to carry. Sit those down for this week and see what you notice about how you feel. 

I’m working on navigating around the boulders with you.