This beautiful piece of wisdom was recently sent to me by a friend of mine.  As we enter into the new year this seems like a great perspective to carry with us during trying times.

Become a Lake
An aging Hindu master grew tired of his apprentice complaining,
and so, one morning, sent him for some salt. When the apprentice
returned, the master instructed the unhappy young man to put a handful
of salt in a glass of water and then to drink it.
“How does it taste?” the master asked.
“Bitter,” spit the apprentice.

The master then asked the young man to take another handful of salt and
put it in the lake nearby. Once the apprentice swirled his handful of salt
in the water, the old man said, “Now drink from the lake.”
As the water dripped down the young man’s chin, the master asked, “How
does it taste?”
“Fresh,” remarked the apprentice.
“Do you taste the salt?” asked the master.
“No,” said the young man.

At this, the master took the young man’s hands, offering, “The pain of life
is pure salt; no more, no less. The amount of pain in life remains exactly
the same. However, the amount of bitterness we taste depends on the
container we put the pain in. So when you are in pain, the only thing you
can do is to enlarge your sense of things . . .

STOP BEING A GLASS.  BECOME A LAKE.”