Lessons of the World
Lesson Number Five
Balance Part Two
Deep in the heart of the mysterious, wooded, and highly misunderstood landmass known as Mississippi, tucked between the alligator bayous of Louisiana and the hillbilly foothills of Alabama, an elderly teacher dropped a small black backpack at his young student’s feet.
Ancient Wen slung another red backpack across his shoulders. He pushed the brim of his bamboo pan hat up with his thumb. His dark eyes glinted in the afternoon sunlight. “Okay, young Joseph. Pick up this pack. The Test of Balance begins now.”
“Yes, sensei,” Joseph replied. He bent don and hooked a hand under one of the straps and pulled. However, instead of picking the pack up, he felt something pop in his shoulder. Joseph winced. “What the heck? What I in this pack, sensei?’
Ancient Wen simply waved at it. “Open it, and the answer will be revealed, Young Joseph.”
Joseph knelt down on one knee and unzipped the backpack. Several rough, gray stones tumbled out onto the grass. Joseph glanced up at his sensei, curious. “Stones? Why?”
“Balance focuses on the very flow of Life through the body,” Ancient Wen explained. He stroked his white fu Manchu mustache thoughtfully. “Balance is needed to help control the Lessons of Nature. So, from here on out, you will have some form of hindrance placed upon your body, young Joseph. These hindrances will help to train your body while you train your mind.” He motioned towards the stone-filled backpack again. “So, pick up the pack.”
Joseph nodded and, with a grunt, heaved the heavy backpack onto his back. He quickly situated the heavy pack in between his shoulder blades. Joseph adjusted his footing so he wasn’t so top heavy. A few beads of sweat popped out on his forehead, and a gasp escaped his throat. The pack weighed a lot more than he had thought originally.
“Okay, sensei,” Joseph panted. Man, it was suddenly very hot out today. “Now what?”
“Now it’s time for you to learn some Balance,” Ancient Wen said with a grin. “You know, grace and finesse, both of which you need a lot of.”
Joseph nodded, green eyes straying over to the posts of the Forest of Balance. He groaned quietly. “Um, sensei, how are we supposed to get up there?”
Ancient Wen studied the forest for a few seconds, folding his hands into each other. His grin widened to a smile. “Well, I was originally going to force you to climb the posts yourself, but I have to show a little leniency and compassion every once and awhile in your teachings. So, we’ll get up this way…”
The old man hooked a skinny arm around Joseph’s thick waist and kicked out hard off of the ground. The was a gush of air, and both men were launched high into the air, white and gray robes flapping in the wind like some kind of disheveled, dusty bird. Joseph held his eyes shut tight as they plummeted back to the earth, but now impact came. Instead, they landed quite easily on the two nearest posts.
“Here we go,” Ancient Wen said calmly. Joseph looked at his sensei beside and couldn’t help but think of a stork or crane.
Joseph scanned around the surrounding posts and took in a deep breath, letting it go very slowly. He gripped his backpack’s straps determinedly. He set his jaw. “Right. So I simply just hop from post to post and hope for the best?”
“No, young Joseph,” Ancient Wen replied. “You hope from post to post and know the best will happen. I think a wise once said ‘Man who walks through rain with confidence doesn’t get wet’. The same rules apply here. Go with confidence, you will succeed.”
Joseph nodded. “Yes, sensei.”
“I’m glad you understand now, young Joseph,” Ancient Wen said. He jumped away a few posts. “The name of the game is to come find on the other side of the forest. We’ll have some tea, my treat. Oh, and remember this: Look before you leap.” With that, the old man dashed away, hopping from post to post like a grasshopper in the grass.
Joseph watched his sensei dart away, suddenly feeling very alone. Nervousness kicked in as he looked down at the ground far below. Puling his gaze away from the dizzying site, the young apprentice gulped and tried to steady his flopping stomach.
“Okay, Joseph,” he told himself. “You can do this. Just go with confidence, like sensei says, and it’ll all work out...”
With his green eyes shut, Joseph blindly raised on foot and took a step of faith out into nothingness- His toe caught onto another post, and he stepped onto it, covering the gap in one go. Joseph grinned as he looked at his progress. He could do this. He could do this and master Balance.
Joseph began hopping carefully from post to post with ease. He felt a sort of freedom, the kind of freedom that could only be found at great heights such as this. He saw something like a black speck off in the distance and decided to start making his way over towards it. In his mind, the speck was his newest goal. Maybe it was even his sensei, waiting patiently for him.
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Ancient Wen slurped noisily as he skimmed over the daily newspaper. He shook out a few creases in it and quietly hummed to himself. Smoke curled up from the lit end of his cigarette, and a gentle breeze playfully tugged them away.
“Hm… Price of gold has gone up a few cents,” the old man mused to himself. “That’s good. Though, the true gold in life is tea. You can’t drink gold, but you can drink tea, and I like tea.” He glanced down red backpack hanging from a nearby post. Leaning over, he pulled out the stainless steel thermos and shook it gently. There was a sloshing inside, and Wen pouted a bit. Not much tea left, he thought. I need Young Joseph to make me some more when he gets back.
Staring back the way he had come, Wen thought he saw a small black speck hopping about in the distance. A smile crept onto his thin lips. It looked like his apprentice was finally spreading his wings.
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Sweat was pouring down Joseph’s face, and his breathing was beginning to go ragged. Ripping a piece of his gray robe sleeve off, he tied it around his head to keep the sweat from running into his eyes. The large man teetered dangerously on the post, arms wind-milling wildly, until his foot finally caught on the post. He sighed and sat down to catch his breath.
“Man. It’s hot as balls out here,” Joseph said. He reached into his rock-filled pack and pulled out his only water bottle. Holding it up, he sighed quietly. There were only two or three small sips of water left. Maybe he could make it last a few more sips?
As he thought, however, Joseph tipped the bottle up into his mouth and downed the rest of its contents. His blue eyes widened, and a string of curses erupted from his mouth as he saw the empty bottle. Joseph hurled the empty bottle away from him in anger, watching it spin into the dark depths of the Forest of Balance.
Joseph stood up and wiped more sweat off of his face. He tore the remainder of his sleeves off. He bit his lip, anger at his own mistake fueling him to push on. His attention was set on the black speck in the distance.
Joseph was mad. He was mad at himself. He was mad at his empty water bottle. He was mad at the weather for being so hot today. He was mad at his sensei for making him carry this heavy pack on his pack…
Realization struck Joseph square in the forebrain like a well-thrown rock. The apprentice grinned and laughed, nearly hopping over the next post. All of this was a test of his Will, not just his Balance. He could strengthen his Will by keep on keeping on.
Joseph hopped along, feeling quite happy and cool with himself.
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