The waves

"You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf..."

- Joseph Goldstein

This so reminds me of the ancient tale of King Canute. The stubborn English monarch who has very grandiose ideas about his own power: he thinks he can command the tide to turn back. His courtiers seat him in a throne at the sea's edge. He commands the sea to go back...but all he gets is wet feet and a bruised regal ego.

The alcoholics put it another way with their serenity prayer: "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can. And the wisdom to know the difference."

Evaluating one's own power and motives is a life-long journey, and Mr Goldstein one of America's first vipassana teachers must have known that breath was the key.