A glass of water, the river, & salts

 

Once upon a time, an unhappy young man approached an old master and expressed his dissatisfaction with his life, and requested a solution.

The old Master told the dissatisfied young man to put a handful of salt in a glass of water and drink it.

“How does it taste?” inquired the Master.

“Terrible,” snarled the apprentice.

The Master laughed and asked the young man to take another handful of salt and throw it into the lake. The two walked silently to a nearby lake, where the apprentice tossed a handful of salt into the water.

“Now drink from the lake,” the old man said.

The Master inquired, "How does it taste?" as the water dripped down the young man's chin.

“Good!” exclaimed the apprentice.

“Do you notice the salt?” inquired the Master.

“No,” replied the young man.

The Master sat beside this troubled young man, took his hands in his, and said, "Life's pain is pure salt; no more, no less." The amount of pain in life remains constant, exactly constant. However, the amount of 'pain' we taste depends on the container we put it in. So, when you're in pain, the only thing you can do is broaden your perception of things. Stop being a shard of glass. Make yourself into a lake.”