The Leaf Over Our Eye

We need not live a life with a leaf over our eye. 

We need not live a life with a problem casting a shadow over our emotions and thoughts.

We need only remember to pick up this leaf, this problem, and to examine it away from ourselves.

So close, the problem might seem bigger than it actually is.

Taking a moment to take a few steps back we might see the problem, the leaf, for what it really is.

Nothing more than another hurdle in our lives. A small, silly little thing that shall not stay with us forever.

Our problems are not usually as big as we make them out to be.

And even if they really are, sometimes a new point of view, a few steps back, is all we need to attain a little awareness over the issue.



I owe this way of thinking from the book "365 Zen" in which a quote is given from "Shundo Aoyama, Zen Seeds".

Please see below for this marvelous quotation:

"Hideo Kobayashi, a cultural critic, says that a leaf from a tree can hide the moon. If we place a leaf over our eyes, it is so close that we cannot see it as it is. A leaf over our eyes can shut out the moon and the world around us, too. If we hold the leaf away from us, however, we see the leaf as it is. So it is with other things. Mountains, rivers, the moon, clouds-- all are visible if we remove the leaf from our eyes.

When it comes to things in our own lives, they can be too close to be seen in a proper perspective. We easily get caught up in situations, crried away, eventually losing our perspective. We can be easily puffed up with pride over a trifle, or become prey to melancholy. But if we see things in perspective, we can appreciate the wonderful scenery around us."