The old wizard made a magical gesture and two bowls flew across the room and landed perfectly on the table. The old wizard then ladled out some stew into the bowls from a pot cooking over the fireplace flames. The young warrior wolfed down the delicious stew the then looked up embarrassed at his manners. The old wizard eyebrows were perched high on his forehead impressed with the speed the young lad ate the stew.
He laughed then ladled another bowl and said “how did it taste?”
“Delicious!” said the young warrior.
“I’m surprised you even tasted it you ate it so fast.” laughed the wizard. “He then continued; “Eating is a good opportunity to learn to be in the moment. Slow down, savor each bite. Be mindful of each step in the process. The way you scoop the food with the spoon, the steam coming off it, the smells, the taste. Let it linger in your mouth for a moment.”
The young warrior slowly followed the old wizards suggestion and the stews taste changed. He noticed subtle ingredients he missed before and enjoyed each bite much more by slowing down.
‘We often rush through our days, which turns into weeks, months then years. Then we wonder where the time went. Make opportunities to just ‘be’. Just be in the moment. It’s best done often with mundane tasks that we do everyday.”
“There’s magic in the mundane and we often miss it by seeking it elsewhere.” Said the old Wizard as he looked up and gestured with his palms up as if waiting for something to drop from the sky into his hands.
Then he looked at the young warrior and rubbed his aged hands together and said “Speaking of mundane tasks it’s time to clean up!” he said enthusiastically. He made two click sounds with his tongue and a broom started walking toward them with a strange wobble. It swaggered over to the young warrior and stopped right before him who looked puzzled.
“Oh that’s Betty. She’s waiting for you to pick her up and help her sweep” said the wizard.
“I’d rather learn how to magically wield my sword than a broom.” said the young warrior with a little tinge of disappointment.
“No offense to Betty the broom.” quickly added the young warrior.
Betty the broom hopped up twice making a ‘click, click’ sound on the floor.
The wizard eyes went to the broom and then said “Betty said ‘No offense taken.”
The young warrior awkwardly grabbed the broom not knowing what to expect. Then silently began to sweep the floor of the cabin.
He then thought out loud “Hey how come Betty doesn’t just sweep the floor by herself. She’s obviously very capable?”
The wizard replied “Betty likes the dance.”
“The dance?” questioned the young warrior.
The wizard sighed “Yes the ‘dance’ Betty thinks you’re dancing with her.” then he lifted a single old finger to his lips as to warn the young warrior to keep a secret.
‘You missed a spot.” pointed out the old wizard. “Remember, be mindful even doing the most mundane tasks.”
The young warrior eventually found the humor in this and started sweeping more enthusiastically dancing around with Betty the broom whistling a tune. He finished sweeping the dirt out the door then set Betty the broom aside. She then hopped up and down excitedly out the door and drew a heart in the dirt with her bristles.
“I think she likes you.” chided the old wizard. The young warrior blushed.
“What’s the first thing you do in the morning?” asked the wizard.
“Well, open my eyes I guess.” replied the young warrior.
The old wizards bushy white eyebrows lifted up and down and he said “I deserved that. Let me be more specific. What’s the first chore you do?”
“Hmm…” Said the young warrior “I guess wash up then put on my clothes.”
The old wizard said “The first thing you should do is make your bed, and make it well. It starts the day off immediately with discipline. See Discipline is sometimes doing things you don’t want to do but you know you should. Discipline keeps our minds on track. Small acts of discipline, like making your bed everyday, lead to larger rewards later in life.”
The wizard continued “Discipline directs the mind when temptation and laziness try and steer it away from what needs to be done.”
‘Temptation” he continued, “can lead you down a dark path. Discipline directs your mind and keeps you on the right path. Not making your bed, cleaning up, slacking off on chores. They soon add up to a big mess. When laziness or temptation start to whisper in your ear, discipline and direct your thoughts back on track.
“Follow me.” said the wizard. They walked outside around the back of the wizards cabin to a large boulder. It was twice their height. The wizard then said “Move the boulder.” to the young warrior.
“What?” the young warrior accidently said out loud. “O.K I’ll try.” the young warrior said as he rubbed his hands together. He approached the boulder and placed both hands on it. He widened his stance then pushed with all his might.
It didn’t budge a hair.
The young warrior not one to give up, tried again and with a grunt stopped, realizing he was not going to move it.
The old wizard approached the huge boulder. Placed his hand on it, seemed to concentrate then gave it a gentle push and to the young warriors surprise the bolder rolled with the wizards touch.
“How?” asked amazed the young warrior, his mouth wide open.
“Balance.” replied the old wizard. “Everything has strengths and weaknesses. You can move giant boulders and anything if you know where to push. Know your weaknesses and that’s the start to knowing your opponents.”
“You started the task with self doubt. You were defeated before you even began. Open your mind to the possibilities. Direct your thoughts. Think of what you can do not what you can’t.” the wizard said as he poked the young warrior in the forehead again.
When they returned to the cabin the wizard said let’s test your focus. Focus or directing the power of your mind pushes away distractions.” The old wizard then began to draw some pictures on a piece of paper. He made matching sets of pictures which he then tore up into little cards and mixed them up. He laid them face down and said “See how many tries it takes you to match them all.”
“Good.” said the old wizard.
“But it I wished I did it faster.” said the young warrior.
“Speed wasn’t important for this. It was the fact that for a moment you concentrated and forgot about anything else.” said the wizard.
The young warrior noticed the spell book on the table turn a page all by itself. When he looked an ornate capital “D” bordered by that familiar star and underlined beneath it is said “Discipline directs the mind.”
