Letting Go of a Bad Relationship

 

The young lady respectfully approached the seated master.

"Honorable One," she said, "My family told me to come see you and that you could help me."

"What is your name?" the master asked

"Aashi," Replied the young lady.

"What is the difficulty?" the master asked.

"My fiance' treats me very badly. We are engaged to be married but he has no respect for me. He puts me down in front of family and friends and sometimes he gets very angry and strikes me. My family and friends tell me not to see him. But I love him." Aashi began to sob.

The master said, "I think I can help you, Aashi."

The master reached down and grabbed a palm sized stone and put it in Aashi's hands.

"Now listen to me carefully. You must take this stone and hold onto it very firmly for the next week. You must never put it down. You must always hold onto it very firmly, even when you sleep. Then come back and see me in a week," the master told her.

Aashi was puzzled but she took the stone and left.

A week later. Aashi came back to see the master.

"Honorable One, that stone did nothing for me," she said.

"What happened Aashi?" the master questioned.

"Honorable One, I did just as you said but after a couple of days of firmly holding that stone it began to hurt my hand very badly. I could no longer hold onto it as you directed. I had to put it down. Then my hand was very sore. My hand and arm both hurt for a couple of days even after I put that stone down. I feel as if I didn't do it right." she said.

"No Aashi, you did it right. That stone is just like your relationship with your boyfriend. In time, you will have to put the relationship down. It will cause you too much pain. Then when you let it go, you will find that this bad relationship will continue to hurt for some time. But over time, you will discover that it was best to let go of it. The hurt will no longer be there for you. You will feel relief from ending it, just like you eventually did when you put down that stone." the master said.

The master continued,"So you must decide, Aashi, when you have enough hurt and pain. Only you can do that. I cannot tell you that. But you will eventually end the pain of this relationship since, like the stone, it will be too burdensome to hold onto."

Aashi, thanked the master. She told him that she understood the master's lesson and left.

The master was right. Over time, Aashi had to let go of that relationship. Unfortunately, she went through a lot of suffering before she truly understood what the master had showed her.

Grant