Seishindo

Cultivating a Pure Heart and a Simple Mind

Appreciating Life's Ups and Downs

Seishindo 'Pure Heart, Simple Mind' Newsletter

Do you sometimes lose control of your emotional equilibrium because you feel you're being victimized by circumstances that are out of your control? If so, you'll likely find this story to be of help.

Several months ago a good friend went skiing in Chile.

His plane arrived in Santiago at 4AM, and he was meant to meet a driver at the airport who would take him to a staging area. From there he would transfer to a four wheel drive vehicle and travel up to a mountain lodge with other guests.

After waiting for about a half hour he got anxious and called the lodge, but the staff was still sleeping, and no one answered. Finally at about 5:30 he reached someone at the resort. They apologized profusely, said the driver was a long time trusted employee, and they had no idea what had gone wrong. They called the driver on his cell phone and discovered he had been asleep in the airport parking lot the whole time! Was my friend annoyed? Yes he was, and likely you would have been also.

The newly awakened driver whisked my friend off to the staging area at the foot of the mountain, only to find the four wheel drive vehicle had already departed with three other guests. Needless to say my friend now felt even more annoyed, and likely you would have felt the same. He now needed to waste an entire day waiting for the next ride up the mountain.

As a way of apologizing, the resort promised my friend a helicopter ride to the top of the mountain the following day, and this lessened his disappointment somewhat.

Early the next morning the same driver showed up as scheduled this time, and drove my friend to the helipad. A breathtaking flight up to the resort helped my friend feel much more upbeat. Happy to finally arrive he made his way into the lobby and soon sensed that "something was up." The owner greeted him and apologized once again, and then cleared his throat as he looked down for a few seconds. Upon looking back up the owner said, "Indeed you are a very lucky man."

"Lucky?" my friend replied in a testy voice, "Why is that?"

"Unfortunately," the owner said, "the vehicle you were meant to ride in yesterday was overcome by a sudden avalanche and the driver and the three passengers were swept away and killed."

My friend was stunned and stood there in contemplative silence.

Here is what he reported to me upon returning:

"For the next two weeks as I skied in a wondrously beautiful environment I found myself having a new appreciation of my life.""I realized how narrow my concept of a happy life had been. Previously, my happiness was based on false mental constructs of "good" and "bad." When things went good I felt great. When things went bad I felt lousy. I failed to appreciate how life flows from one experience into another, and keeps on changing day by day. Sadness into happiness, anger into love, health into disease. I realized it was crucial for me to open my heart to accepting every passing emotion, every trial and challenge."

"In a moment of time that stood still, I recognized I did not have nearly as much control over the course of my life as I had always imagined.""Paradoxically I found this thought comforting. I realized that even though I can't control the course of my life, I can control the emotional response I have to life's many ups and downs."

"Every time I assign a negative meaning or emotion to what takes place, I become a victim of my restricted thinking. I forget that a full life contains some of everything. That we need a good deal of rain, to balance the sunshine."

"I grieve the death of the driver and his three passengers, while giving thanks for having a bit more time on earth to live my own life. I am determined to share my enthusiasm for living with others."

© Charlie Badenhop. All rights reserved.

Charlie Badenhop and Seishindo

Charlie Badenhop, founder of Seishindo, is a native New Yorker. He has been working as a coach, bodyworker, hypnotherapist, and workshop facilitator since 1985, when he first arrived in Japan.

Charlie is a fourth degree black belt and certified instructor of Aikido in Japan, and a certified trainer in NLP and Ericksonian Hypnosis. He is also a long term practitioner of various forms of bodywork, Self-relations therapy, the Japanese healing arts of sei tai and seiki jutsu, and Yoga.

Charlie runs the Seishindo organization from Tokyo, Japan. Seishindo is the study of the cultivation of a pure heart and a simple mind. You can view his webpage at www.seishindo.org

Return to the Seishindo Home Page

Click here to return to the Regulars section

Click here to return to the Personal Development Forum Home Page