A few years ago, in a time where a lot of things were going on in my life, and a lot of decisions had to be made, my instructor, who would personally train me every Friday, told me we were going to do a very different workout and earlier in the day. I of course said "Yes, Sir," and did not question anything else. I came to the studio that Friday on August 1, 2008. He told me to get in my car and follow him. He was going to take me to a "special place."
So I got in my car, and followed him to a very special park, where I have never been before. It was wooded, and the sun shone beautifully through the trees. We parked our cars and we walked. He would comment on what a beautiful day it was, how nice the sky was, can you hear the birds etc. We walked quite a long way until up ahead was a a river and across the way I could see a waterfall. It was beautiful! There was a bench and we sat down. He told me that this spot was a place he would go to generate his thoughts. All the creativity would occur here, and he was think and think and think. Then we moved on.
Then a few minutes later we ended up right at the top of that water fall we saw across the river. He told me that this spot was the place to empty his thoughts, after generating them. The sound of the water hitting bottom and the way the water flowed was calming and helped relax the mind. The he asked me a series of very interesting questions. He first asked, pointing at the river before the waterfall "How is the water over there?" I answered, "It is calm, Sir. Very still."
Then he pointed to the waterfall and asked "How is the water over here?" I said "It's rough and rapid, Sir." Then he leaned in toward me and pointed out after the falls, "And how is the water after the falls?" I looked over, and I said "It's calm again, Sir." He jumped and waved his hands "Exactly! Exactly, Mr. Trento!" He said that this would be my first lesson to masterhood, knowing I wanted to me a master one day. "This is the greatest lesson I can teach you! THIS is LIFE!"
He explained how life starts off calm and relaxing at first, like the river was at the beginning. And then there are times where it gets rough and rigid, like the waterfall, hitting the rocks at the bottom. But we can never NEVER forget where the water ends up. It ends up being calm again. Don't forget that! he would say. No matter how rough the water is, or life is, it always ends up being calm again. Some of the water takes different routes to that calm clearing, but it always makes it there.
WOW. Just wow! And I saw that where the water ended up being calm again, I saw the bench we started at the beginning. He had us begin with the end in mind. How poetic. It truly was the most amazing lesson to this day. It is a lesson I will always teach. It is a little bitter sweet, that my master who is quite infamous with many people (I could say most who come in contact with him) can teach such a magnificent lesson, and yet not seem to live by it himself when it mattered most. But it never turned me off to the true essence of the lesson. In that moment, the true master came out in him, and I couldn't have been any prouder to have had that lesson with him.
Its true. I am nine months away from becoming a master. And my first lesson, and most important lesson, in attaining that title has been a process in application. I had a lot of rough things go on this year. But I never lost hope when most did. There are still a lot of challenges ahead, and some on deeper levels than others, but I will never ever forget, that the water does reach calmness again, the same way no matter what craziness and stress and tough times come my way in life, it eventually leads to peace once more.
Yours in service,
ANDREW TRENTO
I've always believed - and most likely taught back in 2008 - that the people who vex us the most are the ones with the most to teach us. We can be at odds with them but they are "soul mates" to us in a way that our loved ones and allies can never be.
ReplyDeleteEven a broken clock is right once a day.
He teaches us that everyone, even the one's who seem to lack integrity, has something they can teach us. Sometimes spirit even speaks through the undeserving.
I'm glad you were receptive and wise, as always.