Three Wondrous Answers

I first read this story by Thich Nhat Hanh in the Fall 1996 issue of Parabola, a magazine whose tagline was "Myth, Tradition, and the Search for Meaning". It's now the more descriptive "Where Spiritual Traditions Meet". It was appealing to me back in 1996 and it still is, so kudos to them for maintaining the same format all these years. Anitya who? Basically the magazine chooses a topic every for every issue (Fall 1996 was Peace, others included Fear, Ecstacy, Nature, Birth and Rebirth, The Ego and the I, The Garden, Fate and Fortune, etc. etc.) and explores it from the perspective of various spiritual traditions by essays, poetry and stories. To be honest I think the magazine could use some sprucing up to attract readership, but if they are doing well, then I'm happy to continue reading.

This story is called Three Wondrous Answers. The three questions are:

• What is the best time to do each thing?
• Who are the most important people to work with?
• What is the most important thing to do at all times?

It is credited to The Miracle of Mindfulness: A Manual on Meditation from 1975. The idea of live as it if was your last day really doesn't sit well with although I can understand the live in the moment message behind those kind of sentiments. This story is along the same lines but strikes a deeper chord with me, it's not just about living in the moment, but about embracing that moment, not because it may be you last, but because it's there here and now- so love it.