The Empty Boat

One quiet afternoon, a man who loved peace and silence took his small boat out onto a calm lake. The water was as smooth as glass, and the only sounds were the soft rustling of trees and the gentle splashing of the waves.

He rowed to the middle of the lake, where no one could bother him. Then, he tied his boat to a rock, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. "Ahh… so quiet," he thought, feeling completely at peace.

Time passed, and the man sat still, enjoying the quiet. His mind drifted from one thought to another as he relaxed, feeling the warmth of the sun and the gentle movement of the boat.

But suddenly, bump! Something knocked into his boat.

His eyes stayed shut, but his face tightened with annoyance. "Who dares to disturb my quiet time?" he thought, feeling his anger rise. He was ready to scold whoever was in the other boat.

But when he finally opened his eyes, he was surprised. There was no one there! The boat that had bumped into his was completely empty. The wind had carried it across the lake, and it had floated right into him all on its own.

The man stared at the empty boat, and slowly, his anger faded away. "The boat didn’t make me angry," he realized. "The anger was already inside me, just waiting for something to wake it up."

From that day on, whenever something annoyed him, he would smile and remind himself, "It’s just an empty boat." And just like that, he learned to stay calm, no matter what bumped into him.