Have you ever said to yourself, ‘this job/relationship/place to live is almost perfect – if it wasn’t for this one little thing…’.
Whenever I catch myself thinking like this, I’m reminded of the words of the Buddhist teacher Ajahn Chah:
You are looking for a turtle with a moustache.
Obviously, there’s no such thing as a turtle with a moustache. But that doesn’t stop us looking for one.
When you want to be a great novelist, but you can’t face sitting at the laptop day after day, struggling to get the novel written, you are looking for a turtle with a moustache.
When you want to be a great actress, but you avoid auditioning because you can’t face rejection, you are looking for a turtle with a moustache.
When you want to be a famous artist but you think your art should sell itself, without any effort on your part, you are looking for a turtle with a moustache.
Or when you want to have a thriving business, but don’t want to get your hands dirty with sales and marketing.
Or when you love someone but wish they would change a few of their irritating personality quirks.
Or when you want to be a successful blogger, but don’t hit ‘publish’ because you’re afraid of criticism.
Whenever you want the juicy reward without paying the price, or facing the unpalatable truth, or doing the hard work, you are looking for a turtle with a moustache.
Whenever you think your work exists in some kind of pure spiritual dimension that has nothing to do with the grubby realities of life, you are looking for a turtle with a moustache.
If anyone should know about pure spiritual dimensions, it was the Buddha. Yet even he struggled when he first tried to communicate his insights to the wider world.
He could have given up and lived out his days in peaceful seclusion, but instead he rolled up his sleeves and learned how to communicate his message effectively, so that others would benefit from his discovery.
If you want to know how he did it, read my new piece for Copyblogger, How the Buddha Solved His Marketing Problem.
