I read a story today that was interesting...

A Buddhist monk was traveling to seek out a super smart guru who was holed up on top of some peaceful mountain. It was a long journey and soon he came to a wide deep river.

The monk set about building a good sturdy Bamboo raft. He worked hard, and it turned out exceptional. It carried him safely to the other side of the river. It would be a shame to just leave such a nice raft along the river bank, the monk thought. And having worked so hard on it - and with it being so super cool he decided to bring it with him.

He dragged the raft along, tried to heft it on his back, but he hit forest and he was climbing UP, Up, along the mountain. Finally he decided that despite it being a really good raft -- he couldn't reach his goal carrying it along up a mountain.

The Buddhist call this a "golden chain" and from my (stupid western understanding) it means that sometimes what is good for one part of our life journey is NOT good for another. We get attached to useful good parts of our life that sometimes cease to serve us and we don't often immediately notice.

Golden chains can also apply to relationships. Mom's cooking - great when you're 8 - not so good when you're 400 pounds and trying to diet. (I guess - dumb example, I know...)

I think we ALL have golden chains of some sort or another. Lately I've been actively seeking mine and smashing them - it's hard. Cleaning out my closet and giving away my favorite Nike workout shirts about did me in (and then I even threw away that pink scarf I bought eight years ago that I kept meaning to wear...)

If you meditate it would be worthy to seek out your own golden chains and question their presence in your life.

I think a quote that I got from a friend fits here:

"When we are young our convictions are the foundation upon which we will change the world. But when we grow old our convictions become the cave that we hide in."

It's the phoenix tale: when an aspect of ourselves has become obsolete, burst into flames and embrace rebirth.

Wise words