A professor decided to teach his students a different lessons one day. Holding a glass of water in his hand, he asked the students "How much do you think this glass of water weigh?" The students replied -"500 grams, 600 grams!"
With the glass still in his outstretched hand, the professor continued, "What will happen if I hold it like this for few more minutes?" Nothing came the reply. "Right and if I hold it for an hour like this, what might happen? And what might happen if I hold it like this for 24 hours?"
"You will be in tremendous pain and your hand will probably go numb" said a student. "True" said the professor. "But notice that through all this the weight of the glass didn't change. What causes the pain?" The class went quiet. Everyone was puzzled.
"What should I do to avoid the pain?" asked the professor. "Put the glass down!" said a student. "Well said!" exclaimed the professor. "And that's the lesson I want you to remember. The problems and worried in life are like that glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens. But think about them for longer and they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed – incapable of doing anything. It's important to remember to let go of your problems. Remember to put the glass down!"
It is the same with our fears too. A failure or an incident in early childhood becomes a deep emotional scar over time. Fear of public speaking, fear of Maths, fear of rejection. You name it, and chances are, we have it. Someone gave us that glass to hold when we were little kids – 'you are clumsy, you are no good, you can't do it' – and we have faithfully held on to it all our lives. 'I can't' – becomes a thought that stays in our mind and grows leading us to complete paralysis. Time to put the glass down and see the difference!
Buddha was asked, "What have you gained from Meditation?" He replied, "Nothing!"
However Buddha said, "Let me tell you what I lost: Anger, Anxiety, Depression, Insecurity, Fear of old age and death"
