The Journey

As I travel the highway of life, I ask only that I might be allowed to proceed at a pace slow enough to see the beauty all around me: The beauty of the trees; the seemingly uncountable shades of green of the foliage, plants and woods; The beauty of the flowers, with their innumerable colours and scents; the beauty of the animals and the way they care for their young ones and their mates; the beauty of the hills and valleys; the beauty of the sky through all its changing phases; the beauty of the lakes and streams; the beauty and liberty enjoyed by birds and the sound of their music; the beauty of human beings as they try to find their way along the vast network of highways – the way they often stumble but then pick themselves up, dust themselves down and try again.

I ask to be allowed to feel the gentle touch of the breeze on a summer’s day but also the rage of the gale in autumn and winter, with its lashing rain and destructive power. To be reminded by this that the same extremes happen in our lives; to remember that the person who seems hateful when in a towering rage, can be gentle, kind and understanding in other circumstances; to remember that to judge a person on the basis of what I see, hear and feel is as misguided as to judge God on the basis of the destructive force of the gale, or the despair of losing a loved one.

I ask to be taught to listen, more than to talk; to understand rather than to be understood; to see the smile behind the frown; to love rather than to be loved; to see the hand of the Creator in everything around me; to hear the voice of my soul, rather than the aridity of my reason; to know there is a unity between nature’s heart and mine; to hear the music in the ripple of the stream; to feel the connection between music, colour and light; to find more joy in the lisping accents of a baby than in the finest utterances of the orator; to live my life on earth in the knowledge of the life which is to come.

I see the journey as an adventure in time and space; a unique opportunity to experience through this physical body the joy, beauty, love and yes, the heartbreak, misery and frustration of life lived through those five poor measures - all that we have as guides on this incredible trip. Yet, I know that behind those measures lie the power, majesty and understanding of the Spirit – our spirit, part of the one Great Spirit. To serve the Great Spirit in helping just a few to understand a little more about these wonderful truths and bring the light of knowledge into the darkness of their ignorance is as much as any should expect as we tread the road of discovery that is our life. Greater this than all the treasures of gold, precious stones and power that the world offers to those who only labour in her dark and self-deluding basement.