A FLOWING TIDE
People travel to wonder at the height of the mountains, at the huge waves of the seas, at the long course of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars, and yet they pass by themselves without wondering.
-St. Augustine
Past the seeker as he prayed came the crippled and the beggar and the beaten. And seeing them...he cried, "Great God, how is it that a loving creator can see such things and yet do nothing about them?"...God said, "I did do something. I made you."
-Sufi Teaching
A small figure stood on the edge of the cliff. He was the only human visible that autumn evening. The muddy red brick road that curved like a snake behind him was deserted and gleamed after the torrential, heavy rain just a few minutes ago. After the huge storm, the houses around looked worn out, exhausted and battered. Nothing moved around the figure. Not even the brown, crinkled leaves that lay helplessly on the damp ground. And the figure did not move either.
Overhead, the sky bubbled with purple and rosy pink clouds which pressed so low over the sloping land that one would have expected the figure to dodge now and then as the clouds swooped past like playful birds. Ancient trees that climbed the sloping land thrashed and wailed as gusting winds struck them. The ocean moved uneasily as streaming tails of snow-white spray tore themselves from the peaks of the cliffs. It almost seemed that land and sea were locked in a fierce battle.
Against the wild seas that howled to be released from their iron cages, thrashing the high, cold, black cliffs, were 2 seagulls. With feathers like alabaster, they circled, dived, rose, glided together and apart in a silent music that only they could understand. Tenderly caressing the stormy, turbulent sea, they rose again into the comforting wind and curved, a white arch against the hedge of puffy clouds. Then, the breeze blew southwards, rising and falling in a constant motion with the waves. The sea was now a rich, deep cerulean and the sky high above and far, far away was a fainter yet profounder blue and flooded with bright sunshine. The expression on the boy's face was one of exultation as he lifted his hands in praise.
He knew that the birds' brief ceremony would soon be over and each would resume its solitary, lifelong union with the sea and sky. The seagulls' wings tipped sideways, catching the wind and sunlight, swooping past him, dividing the wide sea into half as they went in opposite directions. He watched until they were only tiny, white specks in the sky- until he could no longer see them. It seemed that part of him had gone with the birds, gliding between sea and sky, involved, as everything else was, in keeping the tide flowing.
But even though the gulls were separated, he knew in his heart that sea, sky, air and water still held together, and would always hold them as part of the vast tide, part of the harmonies of the living Earth.
Just as he was held together with his late mother in a bond that was unbreakable and would last for all eternity. As he stood on the grass, looking at the pale gleam of lights on the waters of the bay, hearing the sleepy night sounds of birds and dogs, he looked up at the shadowy, midnight blue sky. He saw the Milky Way and constellations glowing in the dark expanse of sapphire.
And somehow, he knew that his mother was watching him from above, beaming at him with her gentle smile that he remembered so well. In his heart, he recited the Serenity Prayer, "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference." He grinned before heading back to bed. That night, he slept peacefully, as peacefully as a newborn babe.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths.
Proverbs 3, 5-6
People travel to wonder at the height of the mountains, at the huge waves of the seas, at the long course of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars, and yet they pass by themselves without wondering.
-St. Augustine
Past the seeker as he prayed came the crippled and the beggar and the beaten. And seeing them...he cried, "Great God, how is it that a loving creator can see such things and yet do nothing about them?"...God said, "I did do something. I made you."
-Sufi Teaching
A small figure stood on the edge of the cliff. He was the only human visible that autumn evening. The muddy red brick road that curved like a snake behind him was deserted and gleamed after the torrential, heavy rain just a few minutes ago. After the huge storm, the houses around looked worn out, exhausted and battered. Nothing moved around the figure. Not even the brown, crinkled leaves that lay helplessly on the damp ground. And the figure did not move either.
Overhead, the sky bubbled with purple and rosy pink clouds which pressed so low over the sloping land that one would have expected the figure to dodge now and then as the clouds swooped past like playful birds. Ancient trees that climbed the sloping land thrashed and wailed as gusting winds struck them. The ocean moved uneasily as streaming tails of snow-white spray tore themselves from the peaks of the cliffs. It almost seemed that land and sea were locked in a fierce battle.
Against the wild seas that howled to be released from their iron cages, thrashing the high, cold, black cliffs, were 2 seagulls. With feathers like alabaster, they circled, dived, rose, glided together and apart in a silent music that only they could understand. Tenderly caressing the stormy, turbulent sea, they rose again into the comforting wind and curved, a white arch against the hedge of puffy clouds. Then, the breeze blew southwards, rising and falling in a constant motion with the waves. The sea was now a rich, deep cerulean and the sky high above and far, far away was a fainter yet profounder blue and flooded with bright sunshine. The expression on the boy's face was one of exultation as he lifted his hands in praise.
He knew that the birds' brief ceremony would soon be over and each would resume its solitary, lifelong union with the sea and sky. The seagulls' wings tipped sideways, catching the wind and sunlight, swooping past him, dividing the wide sea into half as they went in opposite directions. He watched until they were only tiny, white specks in the sky- until he could no longer see them. It seemed that part of him had gone with the birds, gliding between sea and sky, involved, as everything else was, in keeping the tide flowing.
But even though the gulls were separated, he knew in his heart that sea, sky, air and water still held together, and would always hold them as part of the vast tide, part of the harmonies of the living Earth.
Just as he was held together with his late mother in a bond that was unbreakable and would last for all eternity. As he stood on the grass, looking at the pale gleam of lights on the waters of the bay, hearing the sleepy night sounds of birds and dogs, he looked up at the shadowy, midnight blue sky. He saw the Milky Way and constellations glowing in the dark expanse of sapphire.
And somehow, he knew that his mother was watching him from above, beaming at him with her gentle smile that he remembered so well. In his heart, he recited the Serenity Prayer, "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference." He grinned before heading back to bed. That night, he slept peacefully, as peacefully as a newborn babe.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths.
Proverbs 3, 5-6