Julia Heywood

A young man came to the sage, and said: “My parents are ambitious for me. They want me to pursue success in my life. Should I obey my parents in this?” The sage replied: “Let us assume that you live your full span. You have already spent a quarter of that time in childhood, when you are too young to achieve success, and you will spend almost another quarter too old and weak to achieve success. A third of your time is spent asleep, when you can do nothing; and when you are awake, you must spend some time at rest. Eating and drinking absorbs more time. And you fall sick occasionally. So, there is very little time for success.”

The young man said “Should I pursue pleasure instead? Should my aim be to eat delicious food, wear silks and brocades, listen to sweet music and surround myself with beautiful women?” The sage replied: “If pleasure is your aim, you will constantly be seeking the means of pleasure - the food, the clothes, the music, and the women. So there will be very little time for enjoyment.”

The young man said: “Should a high reputation be my aim?” The sage replied: “If you pursue reputation, you will become the slave of those whose respect you seek. You will constantly try to say what they want you to say, and do what they want you to do.”

“So what should my aim be?” The young man asked.

The sage replied: “Your aim should be to have no aim.”

(Excerpt taken from ‘The Wandering Sage’ by Robert Van de Weyer.
Published by O-Books ISBN 1903816653)