There are these moments in my life when I am left to think about that which I am, or that which I have been taught to be, or that which I think is right. It is never my inclination to discount any of these particular thoughts, although I seem to have been blessed with a short memory for most of them. The most painful of these thoughts, those that seem to have been the very definitions of the term "me", are the ones that linger like an irritating cough interrupting my restful slumber.
It seems to be that we humans do spend an awful lot of time wasting away our lives on these meaningless activities. I so envy the tree as it goes about its life without justification or need to be anything other than a tree. How strange would this universe be if a tree tried mightily to be more likes its Creator, or even had the audacity to question that which gave it life? What if a tree could create for itself a condition by which growing upward was wrong? It would struggle to bend itself toward the ground, its branches pushing upward as its mind pushed downward. Or what if the sun itself decided that burning brightly and hotly was wrong? It would struggle against itself to dim its light, and would change our universe forever.
I think about the lonely salmon whose sexual urges push it against the mighty stream. Imagine if it were written that it was wrong, that not only the act of listening to its nature but also the nature of its act were both wrong. What would become of the salmon, of its nature, of its purpose? Imagine if salmon rejected those who saw fit to fulfill their nature. Imagine the guilt those who simply had not the inclination nor the need to cater to those words of discouragement would feel. Imagine the shame of "failure" it would feel. Imagine the distractions it would need to seek to forget who it was. Imagine the need for "salvation" that this fear would create, and the need to create the salvation as surely as it had the need to create the fear to begin with.
Fortunately for the salmon, the tree, the grass, and all creatures of the earth save man this need does not exist. They are free to act as they were created to be simply because they have no need to be anything else. What beauty is there in such a life's purpose!!
I have had the create fortune of revisiting with some others the parable of the "Prodigal Son". This parable has not only inspired me to untold moments of thought, but also has provided me with a great insight to where I was during any one of these moments. Regardless of where I was, I choose to only focus on where I am this moment in regards to not only the discussion but the parable. I no longer seek the perspective of either son, the judged or the judging, but rather the father who simple loves without the need to be either.
How many of us can truly embrace who we are as either son? How many of us can learn to be who we are without shame or guilt? Very, very, very few of us I suppose. So few that those who can are considered "special". God's will does not involve "right" or wrong - that is man's will - but rather involves doing. That purpose we call "God's will" is found in the son whose wild living finds him broke and hungry. That purpose we call "God's will" is found in the son struggling to remain true to beliefs. That purpose we call "God's will" is found in the realization that we need our "father" again, as well as in the act of returning to him, and yes as well as in the act of forgiving ourselves in the knowledge that we will leave him again.
It's inevitable. It's the matter of humans Being. When we accept our quest to grow toward the sky we limit our suffering in the transformation. When we accept that the light we emit is the light we are intended to shine we limit our suffering in the creation. When we accept that the swim upstream is not only necessary but who we are we fulfill our purpose without interference from who we think we should be.
Or not...because in not doing so we are fulfilling our purpose was well. It's all right, for the sun cannot shine without the darkness of the universe. The song cannot be played without the silence that allows it to be. Perfection...all of it. Peace.
©2010 Thomas P. Grasso All Rights Reserved ☮ ℓﻉﻻ٥ ツ
I do, regardless of fit or fancy...simply choose to be.
©2010 Thomas P. Grasso All Rights Reserved ☮ ℓﻉﻻ٥ ツ
I have hardly but stood in your glow
My Love,
Before the darkness falls upon me
And I begin to stare aimlessly into Nothingness.
There are but few things to comfort me
My Love,
Yet as I inhale the chill of thoughts born yesterday,
You are the feint fragrance of hope that warms my soul.
Though as dark and uncomfortable as I am
My Love,
I do find you the Light and you the Warmth,
That brings me back to Joy's reality.
Who am I to hide these things
My Love?
Does the Sun pretend to be the moon?
Or the Sea pretend to be the cause of its mighty tide?
The answers to all of this
My Love,
Is found in the joy of your simple touch,
In the shiver that touch shoots through my Soul.
I cannot pretend to be anything but
My Love,
Lost in a place devoid of all you are,
Yet found in the knowledge that you are not that.
And torn between the two.
Such an easy choice it seems
My Love,
Yet nothing has been so hard as to choose
Between who I am and who I wish to be.
Into your hands I come
My Love,
Never to be parted as the fault lines fade,
We are, we share, we give birth to
Love.
©2010 Thomas P. Grasso All Rights Reserved ☮ ℓﻉﻻ٥ ツ
Today, when we look at the moon and the Earth, we see a beautiful relationship. The Earth faithfully orbits the Sun, reflecting the Sun's light magnificently for the universe to see. The Sun gives us light and warmth with a promise to shine for a billion tomorrows. That, however, was not always the case.
For once upon a time the Sun and the Earth had a much different relationship. The Sun was angry; sending destructive flares outward into the cosmos. The Sun burned intensely as all young stars did, searing nearby planets and destroying all that came near him. The Sun became lonely, but still could not help himself as his heat and intensity caused all in the universe to avoid him. The Sun was a product of the explosion that created him, and he knew no better because he was just the Sun acting like the Sun he was created to be.
The Earth was peaceful and calm aside from the occasional temper tantrums and changes that came with experience. She steadily went about her business as she grew, becoming quite a stable planet as time went by. Objects from all over the cosmos were drawn to her, but eventually they collided with her and caused her great pain. She felt alone until one day she discovered the Sun.
Other planets had tried. Mercury came alone at the wrong time and got too close. She became a barren wasteland and laid to waste by the intensity of the sun's heat. Venus too had tried, but she also got too close to the Sun's youthful intensity. Other planets stayed further away, and while they were magnificent in the their own way they could not enjoy the benefit of the Sun, whom they feared. Those planets were cold and distant, and while beautiful they remained unable to enjoy the warmth.
The Earth was different. She loved the Sun. At first she was drawn to him by his size and intensity. The Sun also loved the Earth. He enjoyed her beauty and the way she she seemed to love him back. He didn't feel threatened by her as much as he felt threatened by the memories of what brought him here, to this place and time. He did all he could to get her to stay away, yet their love would always draw them closer.
As she got closer to the Sun his intensity began to burn her. His flares would scorch her surface and she would show great pain. The Sun looked around the universe and saw places that would be much better for the Earth, and in this pain there would be another flare and more pain for the Earth. "Sun, I need you to end these flares or I will have to go away," she would say. The Sun tried and tried, and soon the flares became less and less until they faded away.
"Sun, I need you to stop being so bright," the Earth said. So the Sun tried and tried until his once blinding light became a faint glimmer. "I need you to be less hot," said the Earth. So the Sun tried and tried until his once searing heat became more bearable to the Earth. Yet, as time went on, that one bright part of the universe became darker. The universe all around the Sun became a frigid wasteland. The stars shone less brightly, and even the moon went dark. Even the Earth herself became cold and bored as the Sun worked day and night to be, well, not the Sun.
One day the Sun just could not help it. He exploded with a fury, sending light far and wide around him. The moon shined, and the Earth became amazed at the beautiful universe around her she could only see as the Sun shined brightly. She looked at him and saw his absolute brilliance. She decided at that moment something that changed them both forever.
"Sun," she said, "I want you to shine. I want you to be warm. I want you to be who you want to be."
"But won't that hurt you?" asked the Sun.
"You will be who you need to be and I will be who I need to be. We need to love each other as we are if we are ever going to survive in this place. You were created for a reason as was I, and we need to love that purpose as much as we love each other."
The Sun understood, and in his appreciation and love shined just enough for the earth. During the day, she could bask in his his warmth and his light and at night she could see the beauty of the universe around her because of the light he was. As the Sun looked out upon the universe, he could see the coldness and the danger, but in his love he learned how to provide the right amount of light and warmth for the Earth. Every once in a while he would send out a flare to protect her, and she had even learned how to stay close to him even when he was simply being the Sun.
They had learned harmony through disharmony, love through egoic selfishness, peace through suffering. Soon, miraculous things began to happen. Life became abundant on the Earth. The Earth and the Sun together provided for these miracles; miracles born of the love shared between two unlikely things who allowed each other to be.
©2010 Thomas P. Grasso All Rights Reserved ☮ ℓﻉﻻ٥ ツ
