Day 097s: Samos freshly Sighted … (July 20, 2019)
The day had been a long & arduous one, physically as well as emotionally to be sure, and yet even had The Way been ever smooth and joyful, nothing could have dulled the stirringly Soul-deep sense of Peace that comes to all who first round that fateful bend on The Way and catch their first glimpse of the majestically mystical monastery at Samos. And the awe that washes over one upon first embracing that vision is not in any way bound by the beauty of the monastery’s glorious architecture – or the still-overarching potency of its founding religion – or the heart-deep gratitude one feels when obviously nearing the end of a long day’s journey. No, the wonderment in which I was awash came from something greater than those; greater even than all of them combined. It stemmed from a profound sense of innate Oneness with the Cosmos – of a quantum-founded Interconnection with everyone & everything around me – and of the latent Harmony therewith that waits patiently this day to at any moment blossom forth and grace all lives with Peace …
“There are moments in many days (and all pilgrimages), moments that come only five or six at a time, when you suddenly feel the presence of eternal Harmony fully achieved. It is nothing earthly, in the sense that no man can endure the same for long in his earthly state. No, whenever one is confronted with such a higher Knowing, he or she must either change both physically & mentally – or die. The feeling is clear and indisputable; as if you suddenly sensed the entirety of Nature and were compelled to cry out: Yes, I see it all and it is all true & good! And this exclamation of the heart is not mere satisfaction or amazement or tenderheartedness, but simply Joy fully unbridled. You don’t judge anything, because there is nothing more to judge. And you don’t forgive anything, because there is no longer anything to forgive. And what’s most frightening about it all is that it’s so terribly clear, and that there’s so much Joy. In truth, if the experience lasted longer than five seconds — the Soul couldn’t endure it and would vanish. And yet those five seconds are more than enough, for in those five seconds I live my life through, and for them I would give my whole life – and indeed do so quite willingly, because it’s worth it; because it is the essence of what this life is all about – appreciating this Truth so deeply, that one can then do nothing but go forth to live & love accordingly.” ~ via Fyodor Dostoyevsky
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