9. Don'T Let Deadlines Beat You

How do we act when we have a deadline?

If somebody, for some reason gives a deadline, 'You will live until tomorrow morning. Do whatever you want.'

What will we do? Look inside our mind and ask ourselves what will do at that time. Let this question simmer in our minds a little as we meet a Master who got the same dead line.

A small story:

Once there lived a Zen Master. The king, for some reason, declared that one morning that the Master would die the next day. The king conveyed the decision through a messenger to the Master. The messenger went to the Master and said, 'The king has decided that you can have time till tomorrow morning to do whatever you like. You can live as you like. You have the full freedom. It all ends tomorrow morning.'

The Master replied, 'All right.'

To the amazement of his disciples, the Master followed the same routine. The Master loved gardening. He fetched water, cooked the food, served his disciples, and did things exactly the same way as before. The Master did not alter his routine even slightly.

Some disciples went to the Master and asked, 'Master, tomorrow morning you will die! Don't you wish to do something different today?'

Master gave a simple, yet, profound answer. He said, 'I live my life from my understanding. This is the best way I can live. I am totally fulfilled with the life I lead. I want to do nothing else or nothing more weather I live for 24 hours or for 2 hours. I am doing what I want to do. I have nothing else to seek as enjoyment.'

Be clear! If we don't enjoy what we do every minute, if we wish to do anything other than our routine, understand that we are controlling ourselves for some reason. Our thoughts, morality, and values are only skin deep.

What does this mean? It means that we are not living our whole life for some reason. We have not dedicated our entire life for a purpose. As long as we are not deeply connected with every moment of our life, we feel that we are missing something. We feel a hole, a vacuum, a loss of connection between our life and our dreams.

Live in now. Live in the moment. Enjoy every task, even the simplest one, deeply. If we live in the present, deadlines will die their own death.

Try it today!