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The empty boat (JORGE BUCAY)

The empty boat (JORGE BUCAY)

Your boat is tied up at the waterfront and you see your neighbour return from fishing in the river.

He is paddling with his back to the shore, and he doesn’t notice that his boat goes straight over to yours.

You shout but he doesn’t hear you.

His bow goes straight towards your small boat.

You shout, you bang the pier,you clap…

But nothing…

Eventually, the boat collides with your own and causes serious damage to the wood and paint of the bow.

You lose your temper, you curse him, you protest and you want to hit him…

The next day, while looking at the river again, you realize that the current has cut off the ropes of another neighbour’s boat and it is drifted towards your direction.

Again looking at your boat which is tied up at the waterfront,you try with a wood to avoid the collision, but you did not quite manage it.

Eventually, the boat collides with your own one again today.

The damage to your boat is the same as it was yesterday .

This time, however, you do not curse anyone, you do not get angry alsmost at all, you do not want to beat anyone …

The first clear conclusion we can draw is that the first time you did not go mad about the collision; you went mad because there was someone in the boat to get angry with him.

If then and the other boat were empty, you would have escaped from anger.

Having this discovery in mind, the reasoning that follows is that: if somebody offends you, you get angry. With whom do you get angry? And why?

It is true that a curse always brings another insult.

You remember all those that insulted you once.

And this infuriates you more.

But with whom do you get angry? And why?

Next time stay silent. Consciously.

Anger looks at everything through the light of the past, it “reheats” cancellations and it rekindles old battles that we had against our helplessness.

Break the shackles from the past and do not get angry. If you achieve it, you will win an unexpected prize.If you disengage yourself from your past, your fears which are tied on it will disappear.

From Ignorance to Wisdom

Jorge Bucay

(a translation based on the text as presented in the Greek language)



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