Castles. . .
I hope everyone had a gracious and rewarding weekend! We spent part of ours with friends and I was reminded of my childhood days on the beach building sand castles. It was great to recall how much we can learn from such a simple childhood activity.
A little boy is on the beach, he scoops and packs the sand with plastic shovels into a bright red bucket. He upends the bucket on the surface and lifts it. And, to his delight a castle tower is created. All afternoon he builds. Spooning out the moat. Packing the walls, using bottle tops for sentries and popsicle sticks for bridges. Without a care he builds his sandcastle.
A man is in his office, he shuffles papers into stacks and delegates assignments. He answers the phone, juggles the numbers, and gets the contracts signed. A job well done. All his life he will work. Formulating the plans, forecasting the future. An empire wil be built.
Two builders of two castles. They have much in common. They shape granules into grandeurs. They are diligent and determined. For both the tide will rise and the end will come. Yet that is where the similarities cease. For the boy sees the end while the man ignores it. Watch the child as the tide approaches. As the waves near, the child jumps to his teet and begins to clap. There is no sorrow.
No fear. No regret. He knew this would happen, he is not surprised. When the waves crash into his caste and his masterpiece is sucked into the sea, he smiles, picks up his tools, takes his father’s hand, and goes home.
The grownup, however, seems not so wise. As the wave of years collapses on his castle he is terrified. He hovers over the sandy monument to protect it. He blocks the waves from the walls he has made. Salt-water soaked and shivering he snarls at the incoming tide. “It’s my castle,” he defies.
The ocean need not respond. Both know to whom the sand belongs… Do not worry about your sandcasties, watch them and learn. Go ahead and build, but do so with a child’s heart. When the sun sets and the tides take – applaud. Salute the process of life and quietly begin your next masterpiece.
Peace and Love, Jim
#castles #thedailybuddha
Buy Me A Coffee – A Easy Way To support The Daily Buddha!
