There was a semi-professional fighter and religious disciple who earned money by demonstrating his physical strength. Sometimes he found other promising fighters, strong men, or students of the Way to refer to instructors.
In one town, the fighter came across a farmer's truck stuck in a ditch. To show off his strength, he volunteered to lift the truck but, try as he might, he couldn't gain purchase on the muddy ground.
"I'm hauling bricks," said the farmer. "It might be too heavy."
"You're right." The warrior sighed and gave up. "I'm one of the strongest men in the world and I can't lift it in this mud. But I can walk a block to the trucking station and get someone to tow you out."
When the strong man returned, he was surprised to find the small truck already out of the ditch.
"How did you do it?" he asked the farmer in astonishment.
"Oh, Billy Joe lifted me out." The farmer hopped into his truck and started the engine. "Mighty Billy, we call him here. But you just missed him."
"I want to meet that man."
He followed in the direction Billy had gone. Only a block away, he met a woman who told him that Mighty Billy was in the garage. At the garage he asked a young man and was told, "Mighty Billy's in the shed."
Out at the shed, there was only a small man, nearly bald and gray with age. The warrior told the man that he was looking for Mighty Billy.
"Why do you want Mighty Billy?" the man asked.
"Because I know he lifted that truck. I want to learn how he did it."
"I'm Billy," admitted the man.
"You?" The warrior could hardly believe it. The man in front of him seemed strong but he was also smaller and thinner than most ordinary men. He could never be a prize fighter.
"I know what you're thinking," said Billy. "But when I raised that truck out of the ditch, it's because I knew how to use my strength. I wasn't showing off. I was just listening to my body and doing things in a natural way."
No comments:
Post a Comment