This week, let's look at a story from the Zen tradition.

A story about a monk caught between two tigers... and the unexpected moment that changed everything.

Let's dive in...

There once was a monk walking through a dense forest.

He was lost in his thoughts... the way you get when the path is familiar and the mind wanders.

And then something made him stop.

He looked up...

And a tiger stood in the path ahead... watching him.

For a moment neither of them moved.

And then the monk just ran for his life.

He ran until the path simply ended.

His hands finally caught a vine growing out of the cliff face.

And he held on to it with everything he had.

When he looked up... the tiger was right at the edge above him... waiting for him.

Then he looked down.

Far below, at the base of the cliff... there was another tiger looking up at him.

And the poor monk hung there between them... Nowhere to go.

No way out!

And in the middle of that chaos, he noticed something.

Something growing out of the cliff wall, just within his reach...

A single wild strawberry.

Red. Ripe. Perfectly still against the rock face.

The monk looked up at the tiger above him.

Then he looked down at the tiger below...

Then he reached out... and picked the strawberry.

And he ate it.

And it was the sweetest thing he had ever tasted.

He didn't know what would happen next.

The tigers were still there.

And the vine was still the only thing holding him.

But none of that existed in that moment.

What existed was just the strawberry.

Just that one small, unreasonable sweetness... in the middle of everything falling apart.

Most of us have a version of the tigers in our life.

Something looming above us... and something waiting below.

A problem that we can't solve yet, or a situation we can't escape, or a chapter of life that feels impossibly heavy.

And we tell ourselves... I'll feel better when this is over.

I'll enjoy life once things settle down.

But just like the monk who found sweetness in the most impossible moment...

Joy is always something we can choose.

Because here's what we miss when we put joy on hold...

We miss the fact that life is still happening right now... in the present moment.

In the middle of the difficulty... In the ordinary Sunday morning.

In the cup of coffee that's still hot. In the person sitting across from you.

In the small, unremarkable moments that pass by unnoticed because we're too focused on what's wrong to see what's right.

Joy and happiness are never meant to be a destination we arrive at...

Joy lives in the tiny things...

Like the strawberry on the cliff face that most people would walk right past even on a good day.

And the beautiful thing is... joy doesn't ask for your circumstances to change first.

It just asks for your attention... to this moment.

This week, whatever you're carrying... whatever tigers are waiting above or below... see if you can find your strawberry.

And let that be a way of remembering that life... real life... is still happening right now.

That's all for this week. I hope this story reminded you that joy doesn't wait for the hard seasons to be over... it's available right now, even in the smallest of moments.

Thank you to everyone who's been replying and sharing your thoughts.

Your feedback means more than you know, and I genuinely appreciate you taking the time to let me know what resonates.

If something in today's edition moved you, made you think, or reminded you of something you needed to hear, hit reply and let me know.

And if this story reminded you of someone… share it with them. Some things are worth passing on.

If you missed last week's edition: What True Wisdom Actually Looks Like

See you next Sunday.

— Manifest Chronicles | The Mindset Behind Change