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The Wisdom from the Hammock
Life happens at extreme ends
There’s a joke here in the Balkans. It goes like this:
A man was resting under a tree. A rich businessman came by and asked him:
“Oh, you lazy man, why don’t you rather go to the shore and catch some fish?”
“And why would I do that?”
“You could sell them on the market, earn money, and buy a boat.”
“Why would I want to have a boat?”
“With a boat, you could catch more fish, buy a bigger boat and catch even more.”
“And then what?”
“Then you can employ people who would do the work for you.”
“And why would I want to do that?”
“Because you won’t have to work anymore, you could rest under the tree the whole day long.”
“And what do you think am I doing now?
For a long time, I thought this was just a random joke, but in fact it, hides some very important truths.
Freedom can be found at financial extremes; you either need to have it all or nothing at all. The path between the extremes is a struggle (in either direction).
On one end, every worthwhile religion or spiritual practice teaches how to free…