“If a man stole my dinner, I would let him run; but, if he stole my horse, he and I and death would play hide and seek”
– Ranjoor Singh
When I think of this one, I go, “Hmmm”… As I understand this one, it is a reflection of what you find most important at a particular time.
Before I go on, I must say that I will re-read the Carlos Castaneda books in 2016, or at the end of this year. And, Tolkien
Anyway, when I was reading Castaneda many years back, Don Juan spoke of gifts of power, or something like that. The ability to recognise these gifts of power is of paramount importance, in times of stress and need. In the story that he related a traveller was given a gift of food, wrapped in cloth. When he opened the wrapping and saw the food, he threw it away in disgust. Soon after, he perished of hunger. The food would have given him the power to continue.
If I extend what Ranjoor Singh says, the ability to understand and recognise these gifts of power is of paramount importance.
In the book, Ranjoor Singh leads his platoon of prisoners of war to safety. They journey many hundreds of kilometres before they are finally safe. They have the ability to hunt, and to forage for food. So, as I understand it, if a man were to steal his dinner, he would let him run.
Yet, if his horse were stolen, then he would lose his ability to move fast, and to escape the people chasing him. The ability to move towards freedom would be compromised. He would be taken prisoner again, and possibly hanged. With his capture, his men would lose a leader, and would probably lose their liberty and lives as well.
In this situation, his horse was of vital importance to him. It was his gift of power.
The question that I ask myself is – do I often recognise my own gifts of power, or do I let them fall by the wayside?