Weekend Storiette | Two different bricks!

"I can see those 2 ugly bricks, but I also see 998 perfect bricks...!" - a story from the book "Who Dumps the Trash Here?" by Zen Master Ajahn Brahm.

After purchasing property to establish a monastery in 1983, we were impoverished and even in debt. Poor monks like us require additional funds to employ constructors. So I, a former theoretical physicist and high school teacher, regrettably had to study building.

The building appears simple, but as I put the bricks, I tap one corner, and the other corner quickly rises. I want it to be straight, but the other bricks are out of alignment. You should try it!

As a monk, I have more than enough patience and leisure. Although it took a long time, the wall was ultimately constructed and was flawless. Oh, no! - I forgot two tablets; it's distinct from the others; it's painfully tilted at an angle. They degrade the overall appearance of the wall. They wrecked it.

But the abbot said no, leave the wall as it is. I didn't understand but still listened, but I always avoid bringing guests here. I don't like anyone seeing it. Then, one day, my perception changed.

That day, accidentally, a guest saw it and said: "That's a beautiful wall."

I didn't believe it. I thought I heard it wrong, so I asked again, but after what he said, my entire perspective on the wall and even my life changed.

"I can see those 2 ugly bricks, but I also see 998 perfect bricks...!"

I was stunned. For the first occasion in almost three months, I saw other bricks. The surrounding bricks are flawless; the good bricks outnumber the two poor bricks. I used to focus solely on my errors. I was blind to everything. I wanted to smash the wall.

Many years later, the wall remains, but I still can't recall where the two poor bricks are. Actually, I don't notice those faults anymore.

Mistakes can also be necessary for a worthwhile achievement - Henry Ford.

How many individuals make errors, lose relationships, or suffer from poor self-esteem simply because they only perceive "two bad bricks"? Everyone has poor bricks; let those flaws become "unique points". Because each person still has beautiful bricks. Things won't be that horrible once we see them as long as we don't dwell on them.

Excerpt: Who Dumps the Trash Here?

Zen Master Ajahn Brahm