A moratorium on seeking

If you’ve been with me for a while you know that one of my favorite children’s books (what a pleasure it is to be reading them now to my grandchildren!) is The Treasure by Uri Shulevitz.

The story follows the life of a peasant named Isaac who has a recurring dream that there is a treasure waiting for him under a bridge by the royal palace. So naturally he sets off to find out if it’s true.

After making the long trek to the capital city from his remote village, he is met by a guard who laughs at him for being so foolish and tells him about a dream he once had about a treasure buried under the stove in the house of a man named Isaac.

Discouraged, Isaac makes the long journey home empty handed, but, once there, decides to look under his hearth. Sure enough, he finds something quite valuable.

In thanksgiving, he builds a house of prayer and in one of its corners puts the inscription: “Sometimes we must travel far to discover what is near.“

We have a tendency to keep looking for new solutions to old issues (weight, finances. love, etc.) when we already have the key.

The flaw is not usually in the plan. It’s in the application of the plan. The breakdown is in the follow through.

Any plan can be the right plan, if only we will put it into practice – today and everyday.

How about dusting off an old plan, one you know has value for helping improve your life in a meaningful way, and commit to working that plan, starting now.

Make the decision to stick with the plan for 30 days. We know that newly acquired habits take time to develop and become stronger when we reinforce them frequently.

Declare a moratorium on seeking the magic solution. Take what you already know and put it into practice.

You already possess the treasure. It may be time to re-discover it.