64. The drowning man
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Once a guru and his disciple were walking on a riverbank. Suddenly, the disciple slipped and fell into the river. He started shouting in fear, 'Master, please save me! I don't know how to swim! Save me! Save me!' The Master said, 'Save yourself.'
The disciple panicked and screamed - 'No! No! No! The water is too deep! I don't know how to swim! If you don't help me now, I will surely drown! Please save me, Master!' The Master again calmly instructed the disciple, 'Save yourself!'
The disciple struggled in the water, screaming and crying, while the Master stood on the bank waiting for him. Finally the Master shouted at the disciple: 'FOOL! JUST STAND UP!'
The disciple was so startled by the Master's command that he immediately stood up - and realized that the water was only waist-deep!
I tell you, all your problems are just like this. All it takes is your decision to stand up! The fears you are carrying look so real to you, that you are afraid of your fears! The doubts and anxieties that you have cultivated in your inner space are like the river that only comes up to your waist! They can never drown you.
