The Power of Loving Kindness

Many years ago, the Sun and the Wind decided to hold a competition to determine who was the strongest. Gazing down onto the earth, Sun and Wind spotted an old man walking along a worn path.

“See the old man walking alone on the path? Whomever can get the old man to remove his winter coat is surely the strongest between us.” Wind remarked to Sun.

“Very well,” said the Sun, “You may display your strength first.”

The Sun silently departed and hid behind a cloud. The Wind began to howl and scream and cause great torment. However, the harder the wind blew, the more determined the old man was to keep his winter coat pulled tightly against his body. Finally the Wind gave up and summed the Sun.

Returning from behind the cloud, Sun began to shine brightly onto the old man. The clouds departed, the sky turned bright blue, and warmth filled the air.

“My goodness,” remarked the old man, “What a beautiful day it has become. It is far too hot for this winter coat.”

With these words, the old man removed his coat, and continued to walk along the path.

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In my experience on the warriors path, I’ve found we can accomplish far more, with less effort, when we call upon our innate power to be kind and loving. This can be quite a shift from the normally conditioned patterns of thought: We react with harshness to people and circumstances that disrupt our peace of mind. However, the mark of a disciplined warrior is to remain non-reactive to external events. A true warrior knows their external world is a perfect reflection of their internal world. By practicing loving kindness to ourselves, we maintain the power over our thoughts and actions, and forge the ability to remain an anchor in the storms of life.

Greg Amundson