Reiki and a balanced life
Spiritual laws have been given to us throughout the centuries. One of those laws repeated countless times by wise teachers is balance. Reiki is all about balance and symmetry. Reiki gently permeates our being on all levels, helping us, supporting us to move into a balanced state of being in all areas of our lives. For some of us, this balancing act could take years. Physical, spiritual, mental and emotional symmetry is our birthright, but we have just forgotten how truly important it is.
It doesn’t matter what happens to you, it only matters how you deal with it. Trust, tolerance, kindness, patience and persistence are the keys to success. All journeys begin with one small step. Be brave enough to take steps, one at a time in life, even if you’re not sure where the path seems to be leading. One of the goals transmitted to us by Takata (the first Reiki Master in the West) is: “Just for today, don’t worry.” The wisdom behind this statement runs deep. Trust that the Universe is friendly. Trust that we are part of an ordered Universe. Trust that we are taken care of, no matter how it seems to us.
When I was a child, my Irish grandmother used to tell me a wonderful story. Coincidentally, I have read or heard three or four versions of this story over the years.
Once upon a time there was an Irish potato farmer whose pride and joy was his beautiful strong black farm horse. Every day the farmer and the horse would plow their fields, pull up stumps, or mend fences. Every day, the farmer would stop work at noon, unbuckle the horse’s harness, and let the horse graze freely while he ate under a tree. One day a great thunderstorm rumbled across the green Irish hills and started the horse up. He ran for the hills and the farmer couldn’t catch him. Well, his neighbors gathered at the local pub trying to comfort the farmer. They were very worried and said “Oh poor old Sean!” This is so bad luck. He will never be able to get his fields ready for planting now.” When they began to tell him how dire things looked for him, he just smiled softly and said, “We’ll have to wait and see. We don’t have the full story yet.” But his friends and neighbors were very concerned. They knew this was definitely bad luck.
A month later, the potato farmer’s horse returned with fifteen beautiful mares. The farmer corralled them all, and his neighbors crowded around saying, “Oh, good luck! This is wonderful!” The local pub was full of stories about what a great thing this had happened to good old Sean. But the old farmer just smiled and said, “We’ll have to wait and see. We don’t have the whole story yet.” But his neighbors left talking about how lucky he was. A few weeks later the farmers son was breaking in these new nervous horses. One particularly wild mare threw him so badly that he broke both legs. The farmers’ neighbors were back shaking their heads at the farmer’s terrible fate. Now everyone was really worried!
The farmer just smiled and said, “We’ll have to wait and see. We don’t have the full story yet.” Of course, all of his neighbors knew that poor old Sean was laughing out loud at all the stress he’d been put through. They couldn’t imagine what the old farmer was thinking. Nothing good could come of his son having two broken legs.
The government then declared war and sent a proclamation to every town and village in the countryside. “All able-bodied men in the villages and on the farms were called to fight for their country.” Many knew that the country was not really in a position to fight this war and feared that their children would not return home safely.
All the young men, except the farmer’s son because of his broken legs, had to go off to fight and leave their families. Now the neighbors knew this was incredible luck, but the elderly Irish potato farmer just smiled and said, “We’ll have to wait and see. We don’t have the whole story yet.”
When I’m tempted to judge a situation or worry about things I can’t control, I think of the story of my grandmother and the Irish farmer. Reiki helps us gain perspective and be able to wait and see because we know we don’t have the whole story yet.