Charlie Badenhop

During my many years in Japan I've taken the opportunity to dabble in various Japanese arts. I always come away feeling inspired by the sensitivity and attention to detail that is expressed.

One of my explorations led me to take some lessons in "Ikebana", the Japanese art of flower arranging. During my brief training my teacher told me the following: "In contrast to the massing of blooms typical of flower arrangements in the West, Ikebana is usually characterized by a line of twigs and/or leaves, connected by a sparse arrangement of flowers. The idea being to give the viewer the sense they have come across a scene in nature."

I'm preparing to publish my first book of stories in 2008. In preparation for this I’m reworking some of my most popular articles from the past. Today’s story was first published four years ago. I hope you enjoy this updated version, and I hope what you read will lead you to reconsider how to live your life with a greater sense of emotional fulfillment! The story that follows is a common tale told by Zen monks in the Orient. What I write today is mainly inspired by the Korean Zen master Seung Sahn.

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Many years ago there was a young man living in a large city in Japan who felt his life was quite empty. With the hope of achieving a state of inner peace, he shaved his head and went to live in the mountains as a monk.

After studying diligently for ten years, the man realized he still didn't understand how to live with a sense of emotional fulfillment. Talking with other disciples, the young monk heard of a highly evolved Zen master living in China. He was drawn to study with this man with the hope of finally realizing his true self.

When you're performing at a level that's disappointing, don't you wind up feeling you need to make an important change in your thinking that you don't know how to orchestrate?

Recently I had a client with a fear of public speaking come to me for a phone coaching session. I relate this story to you with his permission.

Has the huge tsunami had a similar affect on you personally, as it did on much of Asia? Has any of what you believed in been washed away, shattered, or destroyed?

Has the recent tsunami scared you more or less than 9/11? Or, perhaps the recent tsunami has even led to a deepening of your faith?

I don't want to seem uncaring, or just downright impervious to feeling, but as horrific as the recent tsunami onslaught was, I think and feel that the waves also brought along with them, a huge surge of rejuvenation, "life", and a heightened awareness and compassion by humankind. I think we have been awoken to just how much death and suffering there is in the world, regardless of what we see and don't see on major news programs.