Tales from the Sahara

Bandits observed from afar as a royal cavalcade proceeded on horseback through the vast Sahara desert. They often loitered around attacking unsuspecting merchants and robbing them of their wares. Never before had they seen such a lucrative procession of goods. Greed enveloped them as they excitedly sharpened their swords while discussing their plan of attack. They were superior in number and boastfully overestimated their battle prowess.

Unbeknownst to them, the cavalcade was headed by a noble prince whose fierce warriors were ever-prepared for battle. The prince was returning to his kingdom after visiting a neighboring king. With their plan of attack solidified, they made their move on the rear of the slowly moving procession. Like madmen, they charged with their swords held high. It didn’t take long for the bandits to realize their fatal mistake in attacking the prince’s ferocious and disciplined warriors. The warriors at the front of the retinue reinforced those in the rear and brought the battle to a swift conclusion.

With victory secured, the prince’s men set up their tent to rest for the night. The prince beheld with horror the wounded and dead bandits who were lying in the sand. Imploring glances from those struck down and left to die reached him from all sides. Enraged, the prince yelled at his men.

“Are you going to leave the wounded lying here in agony? Has this battle killed all the good in you?”

Surprised, the men did not understand their prince.

“Why should we not let them die? Surely they will only continue in their evil ways if they survive.”

The prince sadly realized how little his men valued human life. He commanded them to look after the wounded.

“No one has the right to allow another to suffer, ” he cautioned them sternly.

In your care for them, they will learn that there are still men who, despite their victory, do not abandon their humanity. This realization can help them more than all suffering.

Whispers of a Tree

There is something about this tree that draws my attention every time I walk past it. Perhaps it is the strength conveyed by its solitary stance.

It seems to say: My strength is my trust. Unconcerned about all external events, it lives in the knowledge of its uniqueness which reveals the eternal in the smallest detail of its bark, branches, and leaves.

It trusts that its labor is important. It trusts the spark of Light that sustains it. And out of this trust, it thrives!

The View From Above

From the second floor of a hotel room in Worthington, Minnesota, Victor observed a small accident in the hotel parking lot. A man in a red Ford Focus hit a parked grey Honda Civic while trying to park his vehicle. Victor observes the anxiety on the man’s face. What would he do?

At first, he drove far away from the scene of the accident. Then he drove back as if to see the extent of the damage. Victor watched intently wishing the man strength to do the right thing. He sent him waves of calmness.

The man drove away again and parked at the other end of the parking lot. He stepped out of his vehicle, heading toward the hotel front door, but then changed his angle to pass by the scene of the accident once more. He paused in front of the dented vehicle shaking his head in frustration. He wrote a note with his contact information and placed it under the wiper. As he turned to leave, he considered the financial implication of his note and took it back.

Victor watched all this keenly, experiencing the inner struggle along with the man and urging him to victory. The man finally placed the note back on the car’s windshield and walked into the hotel. Victor was overjoyed for he knew that there were cameras in the parking lot which recorded the accident. Matters would have been much worse for the man in the future had he not done the right thing in that moment.

As it is with this man, might it also be the same for us all. Do we all have a Victor above urging us to victory over our daily struggles? Are all our actions and innermost desires which are unseen by others on earth recorded elsewhere awaiting us?

Forgetting The Source

A sweet little girl named Cheryl was the joy of her parents. She lacked for nothing essential and had not a care in the world. She repaid her parents’ solicitude with obedience and her natural vivacious smile which always lit up a room. As she climbed in age, exposure to friends in high school as well as an increasing awareness of her own abilities began to weaken her respect for her parents. Formerly, she sought her parent’s guidance for she knew they always had her best interest at heart. Formerly, she knew all that she possessed was the result of her parent’s efforts. Formerly, she sought to make her parents proud.

Now, she wishes to stand out among her friends. “Off course, they should send me to school, off course they should take care of me – isn’t that what parents are supposed to do?” She had normalized the great love showered on her and no longer appreciated it. She uses the resources provided by her parents to live a comfortable live. She could explain the benefits of these resources but no longer acknowledged its source.

Decades past and the memory of her parents faded. She relied solely on her own limited intelligence as well as the opinion of others to navigate through life without even considering for one second that a higher guidance was available to her. In quiet moments, she is often consumed by an inner emptiness but she consoles herself with the thought that these ails must be part of life. Afterall it is the same with her friends.

…

What is the point of understanding the characteristics of the sun and its impact on life on earth if one does not appreciate the love of its Creator who proffers this great Star for the benefit of all creatures in the solar system?

What is the point of understanding the function of every organ in the human body if one does not bow down in awe at the wisdom of its Designer?

What is the point of understanding the benefit of the abundant resources beneath the soil if one does not receive the gifts in the spirt with which they were given?

The acknowledgement of the existence of a greater wisdom must first burst through before the search for the path to inner peace can commence.

The Tree of Selfishness

Once, many centuries ago, there was a massive ugly tree in the middle of a village. It was known as the Tree of Selfishness because it occupied the most fertile piece of land in the entire region, yet it produced no edible fruits. Its long, thick branches prevented sufficient sunlight from reaching the field of crops planted in the vicinity of its enormous shadow.

One day, a young woman suggested that they uproot the tree, as she could see what a burden it had become to her people. They scoffed at her. Uprooting this massive tree would be backbreaking work, they argued; it would require months of hard labor. The tree had always been there, and the people had learned to live with it. They felt that they would continue to find ways to deal with it and refused to see the wisdom in the young woman’s suggestion. Occasionally, they would cut down some of its branches so that more sunlight could reach the struggling crops in the shade underneath the tree. As the years passed, the woman stood by quietly and let them be. She said no more about uprooting the tree.

Generation after generation passed. As the tree grew larger, its heavy branches shaded more and more of the fertile land until the tree nearly blotted out the sun. Food scarcity ensued. The people ran from one expert to another for guidance on how to increase their food production. They would do anything and everything, try all kinds of experiments, read all kinds of books, invent new tools—if only they could find a way to produce enough food to sustain themselves. The people never seriously considered removing the tree, for they refused to see the scourge it had become. All their ancestors had lived with the tree. Stories of the tree had been passed down to them for centuries, so it had become part of their village’s identity. They were willing to pay any price and undertake any action, except the very one that would permanently resolve the problem: taking down the ancient tree.

One day, an old farmer found a tablet buried in the ground beside the ancient tree. Inscribed on the stone were instructions on how to remove the tree. It was the work of the young woman who, centuries before, had suggested that her people uproot the tree. Guided from above, she had written down the instructions that must be adhered to by the people to uproot the Tree of Selfishness.

The old man shared this tablet with his neighbors. Faced with starvation, those who still wished to save themselves began the great work of uprooting the massive tree. They were soon weary unto death, for this work required all their strength, but they gradually grew stronger. The more they attacked the root of the tree, the weaker became its influence over them. Seeing its vulnerability, they worked harder and more confidently until the massive tree, which had cast darkness for a thousand years, collapsed to the ground. Freed of this obstruction, a clear sky to the invigorating rays of the sun was once again restored to the land. Within a few months, the crops prospered, the air was cleaner, and the people were happy. Only now did they discern the widespread impact of the Tree of Selfishness on all aspects of their former lives.

…

Selfishness is a self-imposed blindness because it blocks out spiritual light. It stifles the luminous spark within us that would otherwise lead us to the greatest happiness. As with the people of this mythic land, selfishness permeates much of our world’s activity today. It has been part of our dealings with one another for so long that it is now engrained in our way of life. Most people are willing to undertake any measure to address the symptoms of a problem. Few have the courage to attack the cause.