POSITIVITY
  • Workshops
    • Calendar
  • Resources
    • Shop
    • Blog
    • Books
    • Podcast >
      • Hashtag Positivity Podcast
      • On A Positive Note Podcast
      • It's the Climb Podcast
    • Quotes
    • Free Minicourses >
      • Magic Words
    • Grow with the Flow
    • Principles of Happiness
  • Connect
Picture

How to Move a Mountain

1/30/2023

0 Comments

 
A mountain view.
​​Read the full story ⬇︎
When it was too tough to break by hand, he would burn firewood over the rock and then pour water over the hot surface. The thermal stress would crack the rock into manageable pieces that could then be carried away from the mountain. 

But most of the time, he just used a hammer and chisel.

Dashrath would wake up early in the morning to spend a few hours chipping away at the mountain before heading to work in the fields. After plowing the fields all day, he would then return to the mountain to chip away some more until sunset.

His neighbors in Gehlaur, a small village in northern India, thought he had gone mad—which was partially true.

Dashrath was mad.

Angry.

Furious.

In 1959 his wife, Phaguni, was seriously injured and needed medical care, but the nearest hospital was in Wazirganj, more than 56 miles away on the other side of the mountain—a journey they would have to take on foot. But before Phaguni could get the help she needed, she passed away in her loving husband’s arms.
​
That day, Dashrath resolved to ensure no one had to ever again endure his wife’s fate. “If it took all my life,” he said, “I would carve us a road through the mountain.”
​
Dashrath Manjhi, chipping away at the mountain.
Dashrath Manjhi, chipping away at the mountain.

The Origin of Passion Also Gave Us Patience
​“The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones,” says Confucius. For most people, this is just a metaphor, but for Dashrath Manjhi, it was instruction.

“When I started hammering the hill, people called me a lunatic,” he said, then added, “But that steeled my resolve.”

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel once said: “Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion,” and when we look at the origin of this word passion—derived from words meaning “to suffer, bear, and endure,”—we can appreciate the implication of this statement, for the origin of passion also gave us the word patience—an apt description of a man who hoped to move a mountain.

It’s been said that Hope has two beautiful daughters: Anger and Courage. Anger at the way things are and Courage to step up and make a difference.

Yes, Dashrath was mad.

Angry.

Furious.

But he also had the courage to do what no one else was willing to do: step up and make a difference. Dashrath entered willingly into his passion—patiently carrying small stones away from the mountain, every day, for weeks, months, years, and decades. 

Butterflies, following their bliss.

Follow Your Blisters
Though Joseph Campbell’s popular adage is “Follow Your Bliss,” even he recognized that anything worthwhile takes work, prompting him to remark years later: “Maybe I should have said ‘Follow Your Blisters.’”

Dashrath’s story is a reminder that following your bliss isn’t an easy path, for it welcomes great trials, enduring suffering, and the ultimate death of who you were before the fires of passion consumed you. As Brianna Wiest reminds us: “Your new life is going to cost you your old one,” but this letting go is not in vain, for “all you’re going to lose is what was built for a person you no longer are.” After all, a caterpillar isn’t meant to die a caterpillar.
​
Change can be painful, yet few things are as painful as staying stuck where you don’t belong, and it is the passion for what you stand to gain that empowers you to let go. As Dashrath once said, “I started this work out of love for my wife, but continued it for my people. If I did not, no one would.”

His passion was the very thing he couldn’t not do—for what started as an expression of love for his wife had transformed into a gift to the people of his community so others would not have to suffer the same fate.
​
When Dashrath followed his bliss, he entered willingly into his passion—patiently carrying stones away from the mountain and collecting blisters along the way.

The burning fire of passion.

Breaking Through to the Other Side
In 1982, after 22 years of patiently chipping away at the mountain, Dashrath finally broke through to the other side, creating a 360-foot long road that served as a shortcut to Wazirganj—now only 3 miles away.


To move a mountain, you begin by carrying away small stones—and for Dashrath, all he needed was a hammer and chisel and the burning fire of passion.

Reflection
What’s your passion? How are you following your blisters?

Want More?
Jonas Cain, M.Ed. is a storyteller, magician, musician, and facilitator of fascination. Through his company, Hashtag Positivity, he assists individuals, teams, and communities in “Being Well By Living Well” to experience abiding joy. Connect with Jonas today to discuss your challenges, goals, and obstacles: jonas@hashtagpositivity.com


​REFERENCES
  • Be Amazed. (2021, December 2). He spent 22 years digging through a mountain with a hammer and chisel [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/UUkIBdJ4r2w
  • Gethin, W. (2018, March & April). “Follow your bliss or follow your blisters?” Resurgence Magazine. https://www.resurgence.org/magazine/article5073-follow-your-bliss-or-follow-your-blisters.html
  • Mascarenhas, J.A. ( 2018, October 9). “The man who moved a mountain.” The Better India. https://www.thebetterindia.com/18326/the-man-who-moved-a-mountain-milaap-dashrath-manjhi/
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    JONAS CAIN, M.Ed.

    Author

    Jonas Cain, M.Ed. is a storyteller, magician, musician, and facilitator of fascination on a mission to help you experience abiding joy.
    ​
    ​
    Connect with Jonas today to discuss your challenges, goals, and obstacles.

    Picture

    Topics

    All
    Acceptance
    Action
    Adversity
    Advice
    Ally
    April Fools
    Atonement
    Authenticity
    Behavior
    Breathing
    Care
    Change
    Change Management
    Character
    Clarity
    Commitment
    Communication
    Compassion
    Confidence
    Connecting
    Courage
    Creativity
    Curiosity
    Dreams
    Education
    Empowerment
    Encouragement
    Engagement
    Enjoyment
    Excellence
    Expectation
    Family
    Fascination
    Fear
    Focus
    Friendship
    Goals
    Gratitude
    Grief
    Growth
    Guest Posts
    Happiness
    Happy Birthday
    Hope
    Humor
    Influence
    Inspiration
    Kindness
    Leadership
    Legacy
    Lessons
    Love
    Mental Health
    Mentor
    Mindfulness
    Mindset
    Motivation
    Online Learning
    Opportunity
    Passion
    Patience
    Peace
    Perseverance
    Persistence
    Perspective
    Positivity
    Practice
    Preparation
    Presence
    Priorities
    Process
    Proverbs
    Psychology
    Purpose
    Rapport
    Reflection
    Relationships
    Resilience
    Resources
    Responsibility
    Risk
    Skills
    Social Justice
    Storytelling
    Stress Relief
    Talent
    Teamwork
    Transition
    Ukraine
    Unity
    Virtual Education
    Vision

    Picture

    Subscribe

    Subscribe on Apple
    Subscribe on Spotify
    Subscribe on Google
    Subscribe on Breaker
    Subscribe on Radio Public
    Subscribe on Overcast
    Subscribe on Pocket Casts
    Picture

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    July 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    February 2017

    RSS Feed

Picture

JONAS CAIN
​Facilitator of Fascination
800-969-9778 | ​jonas@hashtagpositivity.com

#POSITIVITY

WORKSHOPS | RESOURCES | CONNECT

© 2023
  • Workshops
    • Calendar
  • Resources
    • Shop
    • Blog
    • Books
    • Podcast >
      • Hashtag Positivity Podcast
      • On A Positive Note Podcast
      • It's the Climb Podcast
    • Quotes
    • Free Minicourses >
      • Magic Words
    • Grow with the Flow
    • Principles of Happiness
  • Connect