Santa Clara Meditation Grateful Mindset – Huh? He Wasn’t Used to Be Like This?! The Abrasive Guy Changes
Geon Park / Office Worker
My friend Jihoon, whom I met during my first year of high school, was an awkward and careless guy. But when it came to exams, what a 180 degree difference! He showed great concentration and usually ranked 1st or 2nd in class. He won all the prizes from the national math and science competitions, and all the classmates envied him. There was a coldness about him in which he was able to accept things only after understanding with his head and seeing things with his own eyes. He was always complaining, “How can you not know this?” when his friends would asked him a question. He was a friend who was always told, “Yeah, you’re smart.”
That Abrasive Guy Is Meditating??
I felt there was a change in Jihoon when I was in my sophomore year in college. When he was in high school, Jihoon was always nervous, and his health wasn’t very good, but for some reason he seemed relaxed and mellow now. He even showed generosity by buying me a meal.
‘Huh? He was not this generous of a guy….?’ The most surprising thing was when I heard that this guy who believed and followed only scientific and rational things was doing meditation. Jihoon’s story, as he told it in a serious manner, “I came to realize that the things I knew could possibly be incorrect,” just amazed me.
After that, I came to consult Jihoon more often for advice. Even when things were difficult because I didn’t know what to do after fulfilling my mandatory military service, I visited Jihoon and said, “I’m afraid that I won’t be able to make good decisions at the crossroads of choices because of the memory of my parents who harshly scolded me in my childhood.”
It was then that Jihoon Kim, who never recommended anything unless he himself was certain of it, recommended this meditation to me.
I’m Thankful That There Is a Way to Discard My mind
Because I was in such agony, I was so grateful that a method existed which enabled me to discard my mind, and I did so diligently. I felt clearly that my mind of difficulties had been truly discarded in 2 to 3 days.
I had been living such a constricted life until now. I had tried my best to change my circumstances and situations according to my will, but life was unyielding. There was a small entity called ‘I’ in this infinite world, lonely and struggling to live freely for what would eventually amount to be a mere 70-80 years.
The more I meditated, the more I was able to throw away my timidity as well as my random thoughts. When life handed me lemons, I was able to make lemonade as my mindset changed to one of always doing my best, regardless of the circumstances. Come to think of it now, Jihoon was a person who did his best under given circumstances, joyfully and diligently, which was why he was able to display his abilities in crucial moments, whereas I had been jealous and envious that he always goofs off because he is so sure of himself. I am so ashamed. I’m so sorry, my friend.
Whatever grandiose plan you have in your mind will not come to fruition by itself. It is when you make a 100% effort under the given conditions that the results will naturally follow. And it seems like happiness is to live a life that knows how to be appreciative. I would like to express my appreciation to this meditation center which enabled me to understand the principles of the world, which is the most common sense and obvious thing, and my friend, Jihoon, who introduced me to it.
