Treatise on Shelling Beans

Do you know the sound of shelling beans?

Do you know what it requires?

Silence. Stillness. And one hundred percent of being here and now. Quiet presence. 

Life, although universal, is anything but ordinary.

The thing about becoming a better man is very simple. It’s paying attention to life. It’s reflecting on a day that just passed. It’s not about reinventing yourself. It’s simply accepting the way life unfolds for you, and adjusting accordingly to what’s in front of you.

Witnessing life just the way it is, without putting any wants, needs, or labels on it — being in the present moment — takes practice.

The practice is simply to slow down and observe.

When you observe carefully and with curiosity, you’ll notice when you stop pretending to be, and see where you actually belong. Yes, pain is inevitable. Don’t turn it away. 

And you simply belong wherever life takes you — to the land you currently stand on and to the people you encounter on your journey. That’s what you are. A piece of many puzzles that need to exist; otherwise, the universe loses its balance.

So yes, the main job is to accept life in its current form, as we’ve been put on this planet right now for a reason.

There’s a job to do. So roll up your sleeves and love as much as you can — yourself and your brother and sister.

The title is inspired by the novel Treatise on Shelling Beans by Wiesław Myśliwski.