The Cart Of Emotions
One morning my father invited me to take a walk in the woods and I gladly accepted. He stopped in a clearing and, after a short silence, asked me:
– Besides the birds singing, do you hear anything else?
I listened for a few seconds and replied:
– I hear a wagon noise.
– That’s right, said my father. It’s an empty cart.
I asked my father:
How can you know the cart is empty if we haven’t seen it yet?
– Well, my father replied. It is very easy to know that a cart is empty because of the noise. The emptier the cart, the more noise it makes.
I have become an adult, and even today, when I see a person talking too much, inappropriately, interrupting everyone’s conversation, I have the impression of hearing my father’s voice saying: “The emptier the cart, the more noise it makes…”
(folk tale)
Now try to visualize the cart.
We can assume that the emptier the cart, the more beautiful and luxurious its design.
I imagine it with some ringing bells, brightly colored, large and immaculately clean, without a speck of dust or road mud. As if she really had forgotten her true purpose, or what she was created for. I see her haughty, rattling on the road. And making a lot of noise.
It’s the same with people. The more empty they are inside, the more their presence will rumble, like the sounds of bells ringing in the distance.
People with empty souls have no inner wealth; they decorate their shortcomings with empty speeches, their hands are filled with valuables, they use their free time with banalities because they yearn to feel that they are worth inside.
They warn us that they arrive as the seventh cavalry, as this type of person’s greatest fear is to be present without being noticed.
It could be that their cart is so empty that they want to fill it at your expense. They use your energy very subtly, but can severely damage your charge.
Protect yourself from these rattlesnakes people. Learn to identify them. Like the father of the tale, recognize them by their sound. Balance is essential.
The emotions in our own cart
Assuming that we don’t want to be people with an empty cart, the next step is to decide what we want to include in it. But be careful, if we overfill it, we can push it too far and it could break.
You can choose what will fill your cart, but remember that success is in the harmony of the whole. Don’t overfill it; think about space. Emotions are fair and necessary, and in balance is well-being.
Be concerned about bringing love, joy, sadness, surprise and pain. Basic emotions are needed. All of them cannot exist without the others, and to develop any one of them, it is necessary to include the other four.
– The love to be great
– The joy to share it
– The sadness to appreciate the joy
– The surprise to inspire you
– The pain to move on
Essential emotions weigh heavily, so your wagon noise will be significantly reduced.
Be careful not to include emotions that waste your energy, such as jealousy, envy, or resentment. Their presence tarnishes the authenticity of true emotions. If you want to save weight, don’t hesitate to get rid of them.
Most important of all is always humility. Humility is what distinguishes a full cart from an empty one. Never let pride harm your cart, for only humility builds, pride only destroys.
Don’t take fifteen friends on board, just take one worth twenty. Someone who is with you, who helps you experience love, joy and surprise, and who will give you a hand when you feel sad and painful. Don’t waste space.
Let go of trophies or medals you’ve earned. Release them. Know that being overweight can make you arrogant and even make your journey unfeasible.
The real achievements are in the heart, so forget about tin cups.
This way you will take the most complete wagon possible, so silent that it creates an aura of mystery. Pedestrians will want to find out what makes it so silent, what the hidden treasure will be.
Letting them discover its secrets is where true humility lives. Paradoxically, your cart will be the most beautiful of all.
