The Artist and the big
picture
By Evelyn Lim
This is another story told by Ajahn
Brahm.
Once upon a time, there was an artist. He
loved to paint. He would spend hours painting beautiful pictures.
He was happy, for he was engaged creatively.
Then, one day, he met with a motorbike
accident. It was an accident which was near fatal, yet he survived,
however, he had to amputate his right arm, the arm that he painted
with.
The artist was thrown into depression. He
could no longer produce works of art. His livelihood had
disappeared! His source of happiness was gone! He wept bitterly for
days. The artist began to lose his will to live. Eventually, he
decided that he could not take it any longer. Death was the only
way out of his suffering, he thought. So the artist climbed to the
tallest building in Perth and prepared to leap off the
roof.
There on the rooftop, the artist stood. He
gingerly lifted his foot over the edge. At that very moment, he
looked down at the level below him. He was about to make the jump
when out of the corner of his eyes, he saw something that made him
stop.
The artist drew in his
breath.
He found it
unbelievable!
For right in the middle of the street was a
man dancing. What caught the artist’s attention was that the man
had no arms. And this man appeared to be dancing in great
joy!
Instantly, the artist knew. He felt that he
had no right to be depressed, for there was another man who was
less fortunate but yet still so happy. He decided to change his
mind about taking his own life.
The artist ran down the stairs of the
building, wild with excitement over a renewed sense of hope. He
wanted to thank the dancing man on the street.
He hastily made a beeline for
him.
The artist stopped before the man, huffing
and puffing away, exhausted by his run. He said to the man, Thank
you so much! You have just saved my life! I was about to jump off a
building when I saw you. I could not help but be inspired. You have
no arms and yet you were dancing away! Can you explain what it is
that is making you so happy?
The man was taken aback. He paused for a
moment.
“With due respect, Sir, I was not dancing.
I was only trying to scratch my bum. It was
itchy.”
Ajahn Brahm had told the above story in
answer to the question of what his thought were, in relation to the
headline story on October 7 about a financial manager in Los
Angeles who committed suicide. Karthik Rajaram, a 45-year-old
financial manager, not only killed himself but his wife,
mother-in-law and 3 sons. He had fallen into hard times with the
recent financial crisis. He once made more than $1.2 million in a
London-based venture fund but he had lost his job and lots of
money.
See the Big
Picture
Karthik Rajaram obviously could not see
beyond the pain of losing his job and the money. Believing that it
was best that he brought his family along, Karthik took things to
the extreme.
Ajahn Brahm pointed out that it is often
that we fail to see the big picture when we have fallen into hard
times. The big picture is about two things- what our most valuable
assets is and the impermanence of bad times.
The most valuable asset is our family and
the community around us. Such is life, there are up times and there
are down times. While we may lose all our money, what cannot be
taken away is the human spirit, the togetherness. The love and
support from the closest people around us.
Additionally, we all know that hard times
do not last, just as good times do not as well. Karthik clearly had
lost touch with reality. He showed that he did not have the
patience to ride out the storm.
But seriously, don’t take life too
seriously
Ajahn Brahm suggests that in uncertain
financial times like now. It is a good idea to take life less
seriously. Worry less and relax more. So if there is any advice
that you need to take seriously, it is this: inject humor! Have
some fun! Laugh!