Once Across, Set Down the Raft
To cross the river you need the raft; once on the far bank, there is no need to carry the boat.
A method already spent, an old wound — am I still carrying it on the bank?
📝Reflection
To cross a river you truly need a raft. But no one, having safely crossed, hoists the raft onto his back in gratitude and climbs the mountain with it. Obvious — yet in matters of the mind we all carry that raft around. The defensive posture that once protected me, the old belief that let me endure a situation, even the wound that raised me: each was surely needed to cross that river. But holding onto it now, already up on the bank, the tool that once saved me becomes a load that crushes me. To be grateful and to set down are not contradictory. The better the raft served, the more gently it deserves to be laid at the shore.
🌱Apply It Today
Recall one old attitude or belief that wears you out, and ask: "which river did I use this raft to cross?" The time to set it down becomes visible.
This verse is read as universal humanistic wisdom, not religion — no faith is promoted, and the reflection is 100% original ONGO content.
