Welcome to my blog, which will be updated regularly, here, amongst other things, you will find material which I found to be thought provoking and worth contemplating. Feel free to post your comments and your contributions are welcome!
Posted on April 7, 2008 by Julia Heywood
Chapter 1 (excerpt)
‘Shit!’
He felt a sharp pain under his left ear and something wet on the skin of his shoulder. He looked down.
Blood?
Slowing his pace he lifted a hand to touch the wound. A small piece of twig jutted out from the skin. He pulled it free and continued pushing his way through the trees. No time to stop. No time to ponder. No time to have second thoughts.
At last he found the place and the old oak tree was just as he remembered. He climbed to a height of about twenty feet, sat on a branch and looked down. Just as required. No other branches directly below; a good clear drop! The ear had stopped bleeding, but his white shirt was now more like a butcher’s apron. There were other cuts on his hands and one trouser leg was ripped at the knee. He didn’t care. He was there for one purpose and worrying about his appearance was not it. There was now only one more thing to do, fasten the rope and tie the loop. He did it quickly and was ready. continue reading…
Posted on October 14, 2007 by 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)
