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The River
The background image is titled "Rincon Moonrise" and it was taken by my very talented Spirit brother, Mike Pendergast.
Thank You MIKE!!!
I am priveleged enough to own a copy of this wonderful end evocative image, I keep it above my computer to remind me of the beauty to be found in the simple things, and to remember to live my life as best as I can.
And sometimes, just sometimes, a life simply lived is the best lived life of all.
The River
I do not claim to have a fluency with words.... but they are mine, and a part of my Truth humble as it may be.
The spirit is a river, I think. We are all born with a cup in our hand to partake of the Spirit. It has many names, Tunkasila, Granfather, Great Mystery, Budda, Jehova, God, the list of names is as endless and diverse as the human race.
Some of us are born knowing instinctively how to use the cup, some learn how, and some are born with a basic idea, but are unsure of themselves. Then there are those who either do not want to know, or have forgotten.
The paths to the River can be as smooth and as pure as newly fallen snow, or as elusive as a half remembered dream, and as difficult to follow, depending on the lesson we are being given.
There are some who freely share their knowledge without thought of gain, and there are others who demand compensation for sharing the knowledge of how to use the cups with others.
There are some who want to learn, and some who want to buy the knowledge, without making the journey to the river on their own, willing to accept another's journey and experience as their own, knowing that it is a mockery of their own Truth. There are also others who do not want to know, or want to forget, and perhaps give themselves up as lost. Then there are still others who are being forced to drink, whether they choose to or not ...
As we dip our cups in the river, we may find a place that is cloudy and as bitter as a brave man's fears, and as difficult to swallow, or perhaps as turbulent and chaotic as the whirlwind, bringing unwanted change to our lives, and we withdraw for a while, only to return to the river again and again until the lesson is learned.
Other times we may find it as smooth as a well aged brandy, and as sweet as sunshine on a spring morning, bring a sense of peace and contentment to our lives, and we may choose to linger here for a time, until it we move on to the next lesson.
There are many twists and turns in the river, and we meet many others as we search for just the right spot to stop and enjoy the ebb and flow of things around us. Perhaps we will learn something from them, perhaps we will be the teacher, albeit at times unknowingly, and no two encounters are the same.
And yet each meeting leaves an indelible, if invisible, mark on us. The innocent smile of an infant in it's mother's arms, or the chance encounter on a street corner, maybe the electrical impact of meeting a stranger's eyes from across the room, or perhaps a random act of kindness from a stranger...
And finally, when we reach the end of our journey, we too become a part of the river, offering a part of ourselves so that another may find spiritual nourishment, as we have during our journey through our lives, fostering spiritual growth, recycling our knowledge, and insuring that the river flows on.
