The Worry He Carried

There was a man who carried worry with him wherever he went. Even on ordinary days, his mind would not rest.

If things were going well, he feared they might change. If something went wrong, he feared it would become worse. It was as if his thoughts were always searching for something to hold on to. 

One day, he came to Sai Baba.

“Baba,” he said, “I do not understand why I am always worried. Even when there is no problem, my mind creates one.”

Baba listened quietly. After a while, he pointed to a small cloth bag lying near the wall.

“Pick it up,” he said.

The man lifted it. It was not heavy.

“Now keep holding it,” Baba said.

The man stood there, holding the bag. Minutes passed. After some time, his arm began to ache.

“Baba, it is getting heavy,” he said.

Baba looked at him and smiled.

“The weight has not changed,” he said.

“But the holding has.”

The man slowly put the bag down.

In that simple moment, he understood something he had never noticed before. It was not the problems that troubled him, it was the way he held on to them. From that day, he began learning to put things down, at least for a while.

Moral

What we hold on to becomes heavy.

Not every thought needs to be carried all the time. Sometimes, peace begins by putting things down.