Making Time for Picnics

"There were once two monks-a teacher and his student. One day, the teacher said, in order to give some encouragement to his student, 'One day we will definitely go for a picnic.' After a few days it was forgotten. The student later reminded the teacher of his promise to on a picnic. But the teacher responded by saying that he was too busy and could not go to the picnic for a while. A long time passed; no picnic. Again the student reminded him, 'When are we going to go on this famous picnic?' The teacher said, 'Not now. I am far too busy.' So one day the student saw a dead body being carried off, and the teacher asked him, 'What is happening?' And the student replied, 'Well, that poor man is going on a picnic!'

The point is that in your life, unless you make specific time for something that you feel committed to, you will always have other obligations and you will always be too busy."

-The Dalai Lama, 1994