Gaining clarity: the story of the golden buddha
It was built in the 1300’s or the 1400’s, no one really knows.
They used nearly 5.5 tons of pure gold and the golden buddha became somewhat of a legend in Thailand. This was before the internet and newspapers, so some believed the statue was in a monastery to the west and others thought it was in a monastery to the east, but most people didn’t know for sure. There were just rumors.
When an invading army was getting close to the monastery with the golden buddha, the monks knew what to do. They covered it in plaster, so the buddha would look like every other buddha in the country, and then they fled. The golden buddha remained covered for over 200 years; long enough that no one left alive knew it was golden. They wouldn’t find that out until the 1950’s, when they moved the buddha and a chunk of plaster fell off. The monks spent years chipping away at the golden buddha, slowly revealing the gold underneath.
Trying to figure out what you want to do by thinking about it is like trying to solve a rubik’s cube in your head.
Figuring out what you want to do is a lot like chipping away at the golden buddha.
You have to work for clarity. Clarity isn’t the starting line, it’s the finish line. They didn’t start knowing which buddha was the golden buddha and you won’t start knowing which idea is the ‘right’ idea. The only way to find out is by taking action and learning.
You can’t figure this out in your head. Could you imagine if they’d tried to find the golden buddha by just imagining which of the thousands of plaster buddhas could be gold? You can’t see through the plaster in your head. Trying to figure out what you’ll do and how you’ll do it in your head is like solving a rubik's cube in your head. It’s the hard way and you won’t know if it works because you haven’t tried it.
The monks weren’t floundering. They weren’t confused. You’re not either. You’re doing the methodical work of chipping off plaster. You are exactly where you’re supposed to be, knowing exactly what you need to know, and the only way to know more is to do more.
It is much harder to solve a rubik's cube in your head than in real life, it is much harder to figure out what you want to do in your head before you test it out.
So start today.
Take messy, uncertain, unclear action today. Test your best guesses and best theories out in the real world. You’re ready. This is simple. You can do this.
Clarity isn't going to fall from the sky because you've thought about it a lot. It will be created when you have the guts to take action before you're certain. So go take action, today. Waiting only makes it harder.