“Two men, a philosopher & a mystic, were lost in a forest on a very dark night. It was a very dangerous forest, full of wild animals, very dense, with darkness all around. Suddenly, there was a storm, a crashing of the clouds, and great lightning. In fear, the philosopher looked to the sky, while the mystic calmly looked at the ground around him. In that moment of lightning, the path was illuminated. The philosopher had looked instead at the lightning, wondering what was happening, and missed the path.” ~ inspired by Osho

We are all walking in a forest denser than the one in this story. With our primitive senses and still-infant scientific understanding, it is impossible to deeply comprehend our lives, much less know which way to go to reach real fulfillment.

It is as though we too are walking in the darkness …

And yet, sometimes there is a flash of lightning. Sometimes there is a spark of wisdom that lights The Way before us. It is often a flash that speaks of the unthinkable; that encourages raw Courage; that startles us with its brilliance. A Jesus is lightning, a Lao Tzu is lightning, a Buddha is lightning, a Rumi is lightning, a Gandhi is lightning. When our nights are darkest, the lightning of their Wisdom always comes.

And when it arrives, look not to the heavens; look not to the source of your illumination … that’s like studying for years what it means to dance, without ever setting foot on the dance-floor; without ever swaying to the music. After all, if you analyze the source of the Light, you will miss your chance to see what it shines upon …

If you look for the lightning — at the radiant Truth of unconditional Love that resides within every religion’s storm-cloud of dogma; if you look for it, you will see merely shadows of its Beauty, a Beauty you will not find in the darkness that closes once again around you. If you use these waning rays to look for the Light itself, you will miss The Path upon which it briefly shined.

No, when the flash of Truth comes to you, look not to the heavens; look instead to The Path it sets aglow.

The Light does not come for you to marvel at its Beauty … The Light comes to show you your Way.

The Light has not come to be loved by you, the Light has come to show you where you can Love.

The Light shines not upon your future; it shines upon your life — right here — right now — in this one priceless instant of forever.

So set aside your lightning-chasing … Set aside your search for “truth” and “salvation” and “happiness”. Look around you instead. Look for those in need of a smile or a gentle hand … Look for those yearning for a warm greeting or a warm cup of tea. They are your Path, a Path upon which all the Great Ones have already walked — gently urging you to follow …

The next great storm has arrived in your part of the wilderness … The next lightning bolt has illuminated your Path.

Don’t look up — look around you right now … look around your life and See your Path.

See your Path … and set forth upon it.

“When you start really living, ordinary things are transformed into extraordinary Beauty … Life consists of many small encounters, and yet when you bring the quality of intense, passionate Caring to them, they are transformed — they become luminous.” ~ inspired by Osho

Filed under: Wisdoms from the Journey by Scaughdt