Stonecutter

We live in a world that is complex and sophisticated, filled with sparkly trinkets and positions. And they trigger a simple man or a woman to desire more things and more power. So they start on their journey of climbing up the rungs of the "corporate" ladder. In such a world, one is quick to lose meaning and contentment. But is it possible to regain meaning and contentment without having to spend so much of one's time and energy to acquire more trinkets and achieved more power? Here is a story that tells what happened to a poor stonecutter. Because he was poor and saw sparkly things, he desired wealth so that he could have them. His dreams came true and became wealthy. It gave him a temporary peace from desires. But one day he saw the emperor, and it triggered in him a great desire to gain power. Being wealthy was no longer good enough, and he now desired to become the emperor. His dream came true, and became the emperor. But he became the emperor, he was content only for a short while. It was because he saw something else that was even more potent. He saw the Sun! So he desires to become the Sun. And thus, he was well on his way climbing up the proverbial "corporate ladder." But achieving what he wanted only gave him a temporary pleasure. So he kept on climbing higher and higher. And to his absolute surprise, he desired himself back to becoming a simple stonecutter. After reaching the top of the "corporate ladder," he realizes that meaning and contentment do not come from reaching the heights, but instead reaching the depth within.