In a bright little village lived a boy named Arjun. Arjun loved his toys more than anything in the world. However, there was a problem: if a toy broke or if he didn't get a new one, Arjun would cry for days. His happiness was tied to his possessions.
One day, a wise traveler visited the village. Seeing Arjun's distress over a broken wooden horse, the traveler gave him a smooth, grey stone. 'Arjun,' the traveler said, 'this is a stone of detachment. Whenever you feel sad because you lost something, hold this stone and tell yourself that you no longer belong to that object.'
A week later, Arjun’s favorite marble collection was lost during a game. He started to cry, but then he remembered the stone. He gripped it tightly and thought, 'I am letting go of my attachment to these marbles. They are gone, and that is okay.'
To his surprise, the heavy feeling in his chest vanished instantly. He didn't feel the sting of loss anymore. He realized that the pain didn't come from the lost marbles, but from his desire to keep them. From that day on, Arjun found a much deeper, lasting happiness that no lost toy could ever take away.
