Today’s Excerpt:

In a story from the Hindu epic The Mahabharata, a boy named Arjuna and his fellow students were learning archery with guidance from their teacher. The teacher took a wooden bird and placed it in a tree far in the distance.

The students all gathered around the teacher who told them to hit the eye of the wooden bird with their arrow. As each student stepped forward the teacher asked, “Before you release the arrow, tell me what you see.”

The first student stepped forward and responded, “I see the leaves and the tree and the branches.” Hearing this, the teacher did not let the student shoot.

The next student stepped forward and said, “I see the wooden bird, other birds in the same tree, and the sky beyond.” Hearing this, the teacher did not let the student shoot.

Each student stepped forward with a similar response, naming everything they could see in the distance surrounding the wooden bird. Each time the teacher did not let the student shoot.

Finally, Arjuna stepped forward and the teacher asked, “What do you see?”

“I can only see the bird’s eye.” With that, the teacher told Arjuna to release his arrow. It flew through the air, striking the wooden bird directly in the eye.

Discuss:

• Is there anything you want to focus on completely, like the eye of the wooden bird? What would happen if you pursued your goal with that level of focus?