Lesson 2 - Keep it simple, stupid
Ruminations
Thoughts in passing
Let our brilliance make them look dark. No, let us not become darker ourselves on their account, like ail those who punish others and feel dissatisfied.
Vertigo-
I dreamed once I was atop a deep ravine.
A cacophony invaded my senses:
Thrashing metal, shattering glass, and a
guttural scream echoed a thousand times over.
The ravine, as if to suppress it, appeared to
constrict ever tighter.
I shuffled closer to the edge.
Peering over, I observed the source of the disturbance.
It did not come all at once.
It came in pieces.
Shattered glass spread across the ravine floor
like a dreadful constellation,
Metal arms and legs strewn about in an impressive performance of war,
Steel body of an automobile disfigured beyond comprehension,
As flames erupted indiscriminately from its chassis.
The flames began to roar,
And with it came another sound:
a cry for help.
My eyes were drawn to a small figure jutting from
what must have been the driver's seat moments before.
Up until now, the figure had been
indistinguishable from the chaos.
Now, as if aware of my presence, the man
raised his head pleadingly up to the top of the ravine where I stood.
My eyes widened--
Panic set in,
And a feeling of vertigo creeped into my body
like an unwelcomed guest.
It was me!
The man below was me!
The same face.
The same eyes.
Questions of how this could be were superseded by a most
primal desperation.
Please, is there anyone down there to help?
Save him!
Save me!
But there was no one.
I shouted.
I stomped by feet.
I tore at my hair.
Nobody.
I could only pace along the edge as the flames engulfed the man below.
A final visceral scream echoed through the ravine,
From which one of us I know not.
It was then I was startled awake,
Tears streaming down my face.
And of this filthy secret, I was unable to speak.
My first act of free will shall be to believe in free will.
Lesson 1 - Begin with the end in mind
I have seen beasts of burden hold the entire weight of the world upon their shoulders. Sweat and sweet tears peppering the unforgiving earth. Yet one step after the other they still took. To an unknown destination and with only a mere grunt in protest.
I shall pass through this world but once. Any good, therefore, that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.
How do you measure the depth of a soul?
Do you dip your toes in its timid waters?
Do you place your face just below the surface
and hope to see the bottom?
Do you throw a line in and see what manner of object it catches?
Or, do you dive in headfirst?
Lungs straining under the pressure
As you grasp the timeless sand
at the bottom of the sea with outstretched fingertips.