Stone Soup

The following story is part as Portuguese tradition and I present the story as found at Wikipedia:

According to the story, some travellers come to a village, carrying nothing more than an empty pot. Upon their arrival the villagers are unwilling to share any of their food stores with the hungry travellers.

The travellers fill the pot with water, drop a large stone in it, and place it over a fire in the village square. One of the villagers becomes curious and asks what they are doing. The travellers answer that they are making "stone soup", which tastes wonderful, although it still needs a little bit of garnish to improve the flavor, which they are missing. The villager doesn't mind parting with just a little bit to help them out, so it gets added to the soup.

Another villager walks by, inquiring about the pot, and the travellers again mention their stone soup which hasn't reached its full potential yet. The villager hands them a little bit of seasoning to help them out. More and more villagers walk by, all adding another ingredient. Finally, a delicious and nourishing pot of soup is enjoyed by all.

Shared by Betsy

The Cat and The Tao

"To know is to recognized what you understand
and what you do not understand"

Confucius


I find that the innocent yet deep wisdom that comes to life in the world-known children's book, Winnie the Pooh, is also found in The Cat and The Tao by Chinese author and artist, Kwong Kuen Shan. Shang has created a little masterpiece with quotes accompanied by lavishingly beautiful Chinese brush paintings. Enjoy the collection of wisdom quotes, that stay with your for the day - and offers a better refreshment than coffee or tea - if you ask me :)

The Keys to Your Home

Mulla Nusradin was looking for his keys to his home in the street one evening. As he couldn't find them he began crying out "Oh where are my keys! How can I get inside my home without my keys!". Luckily some of his friends walked by and saw him and they started to help Mulla look for his keys but even though many eyes were now looking, they still didn't find the keys. After some time, one of his friends asked, "Mulla where did you last see your keys? Then we can start the search from there.". Mulla said, "Oh, that was inside my house.". The friends were surprised and they asked, "But Mulla, why then were you searching outside your house in the street?". Mulla smiled and pointed to the street lamp and said, "Because here's more light!"

So, what's the point of this ancient wisdom story :) ?

You are welcome to share your stories of ancient wisdom with me.

Heart of a Lotus

This blog has been on its way for some time now. It'll be a more personal blog where I'll share my thoughts on life and stories of wisdom. So much wisdom and beauty of all traditions of life are available for people today - let's use it! to make life a celebration for all living beings.

Welcome!