Mindfulness Mondays 54: The Inn

June 7, 2010 by dr. lam

Palace(4) A traveller came upon the King’s palace and walked right past the guards to the throne without difficulty. The king a bit startled asked what the man wanted. The man asked, “Do you have place in this inn?” The king replies, “This is not an inn. It is my palace.” The man then inquires further, “May I ask who owned this palace before you?” The king explains, “My father. But he is now dead.” ”And who owned it before your father?” the man then asks. ”Well, my grandfather, but he is dead too,” the king exclaims. The man then concludes, “And you do not think this is an inn?”

We too often believe that we are a product of what we own and what we own is something special: our car, our house, our office, our clothes. However, we are mere passengers in this journey called life. The sooner that we recognize the transience of what we have in front of us and the futility of holding on to everything we have as “an owner”, the more joy we can express and feel. We can become more at peace when we recognize that perhaps our own home is merely an inn and not a home.

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