Is That So?

I spent a lot of my life believing some tall stories about myself. During my years of searching for some truths of life, I came to realize the majority of folks suffer from the same malady. Some view themselves as legends in their own minds, while others see themselves as worth little or nothing at all. Those tall stories came from someplace, and the story-tellers were under the same illusions.

Take beliefs about God, for example. Some people don't believe in any God at all, and others believe in one fervently. Me? I have seen my ideas change too much along my path to make definite statements anymore. At this point I use the word "spirit" to describe what I understand as God. I lean toward a Taoist philosophy at present. Next? - I don't have a clue.

All I know for sure is, that whatever name I use, the presence of spirit is constant, undying and all-accepting. I would not be the person I am today if it wasn't for the presence of spirit in my life. I would still be angry at the world, scared of my own shadow and full of self-hatred. There is a Zen story about a monk who was blamed for some things he did not do. To all the accusations, he replied with "Is that so?"

These accusations were held against him for a long time. Years later when his accuser was on her death bed, she repented and told the truth. The people of the village were mortified, and went to the monk full of repentance and apologies. His only reply was - you've guessed it - "Is that so?"

Once you look at the tall stories you were told about the guilt, shame, brokenness or whatever else you were supposed to carry, you will come to the place of saying "Is that so?"
If we do not look, we will not see, and so a tall story will never be cut down to size.

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