Chop Wood, Carry Water (Lifestyle)
August 10, 2024
‘Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water’
I came across this Zen Buddhist saying while reading Phil Jackson’s autobiography Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success, a year ago while I was in my accounting classes in college.
To me it means to live in the present and embrace the simple things in life. “Chop wood, carry water” are the simple things in life that we all have to do on a daily basis, so those things should be embraced as we need to do those things to live our lives. Even in the pursuits of our goals and dreams there will always be ‘simple’ things that need to be done to progress towards the big dreams, so all of the simple things in life should be embraced.
Phil Jackson’s autobiography is a pretty good read too especially if you’re a basketball fan.