 and bedding of the samurai’s once perfect home.
Besides, all the damage caused by the rat was matched by the samurai’s failed attempts to exterminate the rodent. Walls were sliced, fabrics were slashed, and fine pottery was smashed by the master’s errant blade. According to this Zen story, he accepted that he was overmastered by the rat. He needed help.
In a near town, there was a doctor who many knew him far and wide for his great learning. The samurai was his old friend. He went to him and explained his problem. The doctor prescribed a very powerful poison that had no taste and no smell. He took it home and prepared it into the rat’s favorite foods.
But no craft or guile could induce the rat to eat them. So, the samurai went to see his friend the hunter. “I’m good at killing men,” he thought. “But my friend is great at killing animals.” The hunter had just the solution. Since he raised hunting dogs, he picked the fiercest and most relentless one.
In fact, the dog was a little Shiba Inu which people believed was tireless in pursuit of his prey. Sadly, not even this indomitable canine hunter was able to get rid of the rat. When they first met, the odious rat even taunted the dog. This made the samurai even more perturbed.
The intriguing Zen story follows with the samurai thinking, “Maybe I need a different kind of help.” He packed a travel sack and went back to Mount Bizan. In fact, he specifically went to a remote Zen monastery. 
“Oh no,” politely said the samurai. “I, a great swordsman, couldn’t defeat it. The cleverest poisons couldn’t trick it. The rat even broke the fiercest hunting dog. This cat is barely bigger than the rat. I don’t believe it can defeat it.” “Yet, this cat is what you need,” said the master in this Zen story.
So, he carried the cat home. When they arrived, he set the old cat on the floor by the door. The rat dramatically dropped from the ceiling to taunt it. The cat looked at the rat and cleaned itself before taking a nap. The rat warily eyed it, keeping a fretful eye on the feline.
The cat’s eating, sleeping, grooming, and stretching. He would look at the rat, but never would he make the slightest threat in the rat’s direction. The rat challenged the cat, but the cat took no notice. The rat became nervous and high-strung. It started eating in secret, always with an eye on the cat.
Its hair fell out, while it lost appetite and weight. Sometimes, the cat walked towards the rat and it scurried away in terror. Yet, the cat merely lied down and ignored the now frightful rat. The samurai felt a house full of crackling tension. The rat felt a house full of tension and building terror. The cat simply ate and slept.
One night, it was looking at the rat, without much interest. The Zen story follows with the cat yawning while showing his pink tongue and old yellow fangs. The rat, shivering in lusterless, patchy fur, starved from nerves. Finally, it completely broke down and went running off into the night, never to be seen again.
Afterward, the samurai petted his beloved cat, and the cat purred. It was the first time the samurai heard it do it. This thought-provoking Zen story on serenity teaches us that we must live up to our potential to succeed. Don’t settle without knowing your potential.
Chen-Chi, C., & Canto, P. (1971). La práctica del Zen. La Plèyade.
A Short Story about Prejudice: "The Cookie Thief"
Think your water bottle and deodorant is enough? You might want to think again.
You’ve got your deodorant on, shoes tied and water bottle in hand, so you’re ready to go head to the gym, right? Not without some gym bag essentials that many oftentimes forget. Select items can be vital to an effective and enjoyable workout.
We’ve got some tips on what to pack in your gym bag to make the job a little easier. Here are some items you shouldn’t forget.
7 Gym Bag Essentials
1. The Perfect Gym Bag
This may be obvious, but there’s a large market out there for gym bags and it’s important to pick out the right one. The best gym bag is sturdy, so that you don’t have to run out every few months to purchase a new one. There are plenty of fashionable bags that can cater to your own tastes as well. A good thing to remember is: The money you put in equals the quality you get out.
2. Supplemental Products
Supplements aren’t for everyone, but are beneficial for a lot of people. It’s one of the best things to put in your gym bag. If it’s for you, there are plenty of products on the market, in both pill and drink form, that can help in muscle recovery and revving up your metabolism. However, do some research to see what’s right for you. You should take supplements that target your own needs.
3. Bandages
When it comes to what to carry in your gym bag, many gym users will tell you bandages are among the most important and the most forgotten items. Carry them in case of blisters or any other injury, and in case someone else needs them.
4. Changes of Shoes
Luckily, many women’s gym bags have large enough compartments to fit some shoes. You should bring two different types to the gym: Your workout shoes and some flip-flips. Your workout shoes are obvious and you probably wear them to the gym, but be sure to pick up a pair of cheap flip-flops to wear to the showers. Foot bacteria is not fun to deal with.
5. Heart Rate Monitor
This could be one of the most underrated gym bag essentials for women and men. The machines may claim to be monitoring your heart rate, but your own monitor will do so much more effectively and tell you if you need to amp it up or slow it down.
6. Change of Clothes
You should be thinking of comfort and convenience when you’re wondering what to pack in your gym bag, so a change of clothes are essential. You should bring a dry shirt to change into, as few things feel better than changing out of a sweaty shirt after a good workout. Also, depending on the weather, if you wear shorts to the gym, pack a pair of sweatpants to wear outside to avoid cold legs.
7. Healthy Snack
It’s good to have protein after you work out. There are plenty of pre and post-workout bars and nutritional bars that are made for gym bags. Even if you don't think you'll be hungry, pack something anyway.
Hopefully these seven tips for packing a gym bag help you travel to and from the gym. It's always good to be over-prepared than not!First published in Australian Ageing Agenda, July-August 2008. Reprinted with permission.
Image credit: Fiona Katauskis.
Board remuneration is a tricky conundrum for many not-for-profit organisations. Michael Goldsworthy shares a framework that all directors considering this option, need to consider.
This is a defining question that increasing numbers of directors of community businesses – or not-for-profits – are thinking about and discussing as boards, as the intensity of risk and responsibility is balanced against the rewards (see the ‘Triple R’ model below).
It is estimated that there are some 700,000 community businesses throughout Australia. A research project undertaken in 2001 by the academics, Peter Steane and Michael Christie entitled, Non Profit Boards in Australia: A Distinctive Governance Approach, has determined that between 12–15 per cent of directors of community businesses are remunerated. Typically these are directors of companies limited by guarantee which operate non-religious or charitable community businesses, such as Group Training Companies, Industry Superannuation Funds or Employment Services.
One model which may be useful when considering the ‘remuneration question’ is the Governance Framework Model (see diagram below), which characterises community businesses using the following core categories.
• Entities established by acts of parliament, which are state-based and typically accommodate church or charitable community businesses.
Each piece of state or Commonwealth legislation imposes a range of governance roles and responsibilities upon directors.
If a board has a comprehensive governance system within its policies and procedures, there should be a board remuneration and reimbursement policy. This document should have attached procedures and remuneration tools, including a right to, or a restriction on the remuneration or reimbursement of directors.
Consideration also needs to be given to any remuneration or reimbursement requirements of particular state or Commonwealth acts that underpin service delivery, such as the Aged Care Act 1997 or The Disability Services Act 1986.
Some state-based contracts, funding and service agreements and standards or quality systems place restrictions on remuneration, such as the Victorian Adult Council of Further Education. This needs to be examined and taken into account where necessary.
John Carver, an American governance academic, speaks of a moral, legal and ethical framework within which boards should develop their culture and operate. However, it could be argued that these components are no longer the only key considerations for the ‘volunteer’ board member who is seeking remuneration