Publisher’s Letter – Under the Seventh Star

By Kasia Szumal –

Once there was a tavern called “Lucky Star” with great food, affordable prices and employees who gave the best service they could offer. Unfortunately, the tavern was losing business; they were getting less and less customers. Times were really bad.

One day, a monk came into the tavern and ordered something to eat and drink. The owner, who did not have much to do sat down next to the monk, and started complaining about his tavern’s situation. The monk told him, “You need to change the name of your tavern.” The owner laughed at him and told him that changing a name of the tavern will do nothing to improve his business. But, the monk insisted and told the owner to change the name to “Under The Seventh Star” and paint it on a banner with only six stars instead of seven. The owner laughed again and left the monk. The monk finished his meal and left the tavern.

For the next few days, the owner thought over the monk’s suggestions and decided to change the name of his tavern to “Under The Seventh Star.” He hired a carpenter to hang a banner with six stars and the new name on it.

Right after he hung a banner on the tavern, a person came in to tell the owner that there was an error on the banner—there are six stars instead of seven. However, when he stepped into the tavern and smelled the delicious aroma and saw the inviting atmosphere, he sat down and had a meal.

As you can imagine, the tavern’s doors were opening and closing constantly. People were coming in to point out the mistake on the banner. But, as soon as they walked into the welcoming tavern full of pleasant smells and great service, they decided to stay and have a meal. After a while, the tavern became one of the most popular and prosperous taverns in the town.

After many months, the monk came back for a meal. When the owner saw him, he kissed him, hugged him and sat him down at a table and served him dinner. The owner asked the monk, “How did you know that changing the name of the business would change my situation?”

The monk replied, “I didn’t know if changing the name of the business would do anything for you, but I do know that people like to point out the mistakes of others.”

For me, the biggest lesson and wisdom of this story is to remind us all to take our experiences, mistakes and failings and use them to create something good in your life. Life is like a puzzle, every piece is important to see the whole picture.

This August issue is filled with content that will help you create your best life! In From the Heart this month, Alan Cohen reminds us that “where you made a faulty choice before, you now can make a better one.” Dr. Jacob Liberman discusses the relationship between consciousness and vision in his interview Let There Be Light, conducted by Janae Jean and Spencer Schluter. Be sure to listen to the entire enlightening conversation on the Conscious Community Podcast available wherever you choose to listen to podcasts. Many of us have times when we deal with anxiety, Dr. Matthew B. James offers helpful suggestions to prevent this in Clearing Anxiety from Your Future. If you are looking for even more inspiration to keep you on the path to your best life, check out local events like this month’s World of Faeries Festival and the Integrative NLP Practitioner Certification Training this September, as well as the many motivational books featured in Kayla Hancock’s In Print.

The Best,

Kasia Szumal