The Donkey's Shadow

(see video below)

A traveler was making his way to his destination on an intensely hot day, under blazing sun. He knew that in order for him to make it safely, he needed some assistance. He spoke with someone who had a donkey and hired it. The man from whom he hired the donkey, knew the donkey was somewhat lazy and needed to be prodded along. He decided to join the traveler on his journey. As lunchtime came, they stopped for a break. They had lunch and then relaxed, after they ate, the traveler laid down in the shadow of the donkey, the owner of the donkey having no place to sit in the shade, insisted to the traveler that he hired the donkey, not the donkeys shadow. Consequently, the shadow the shadow was his. The traveler said that when he hired the donkey, he hired whatever came with it, that includes the shadow! They got into a big argument, carrying on about who had rights to the shadow. After some time, they both turned toward the donkey, and the donkey had run away, leaving neither one of them with a shadow. 

The two men argued over a trivial matter. The consequence was that they ended up losing what was truly valuable. In this case, both the traveler and the donkey's owner lost the donkey itself due to their argument over the shadow. Once again, we see the importance of the power of pause. As we practice regular mindfulness, and move from moments of peacefulness to a “state” of peacefulness, trivial matters melt away, allowing us to focus on the important issues, and make sound decisions. This decreases stress and mistakes. 

Decreasing stress reduces the bodies tendency toward fight or flight. Harvard research (Inflammation and the Brain) shows, fight or flight leads to an increase in Inflammation. Inflammation puts the body out of balance, causing more stress., and other physiological issues, which are best avoided. 

The Donkey's Shadow is a great lesson on the power of pause!