A stranger walks into a house deep in the forest. Inside, an elderly lady is sitting on an ancient wooden rocking chair. As she rocks back and forth, the chair’s legs gently graze the wooden floor, creating a soothing sound.
-Hello, I’ve been walking for days. I believe I’ve lost my path as I just see trees everywhere. My food and water are running low. May I ask you a question?
-Hello my friend, please have a seat. What is it that you seek?
-I want to see the wise man who lives in this forest.
-Oh him, yes, I know of him.
-Where can I find him?
-He’s long gone, I’m afraid.
The stranger starts sobbing, looks down at the floor and collapses to his knees on a carpet adorned with a blue ocean and pirate ships designs. The blue colour is so intense that the stranger remains silent and just admires it for some minutes.
-But, but…I’ve been traveling for so long, I’ve lost so much and I don’t know what to do. If only I could find him.
-What is it then? Perhaps I can help you. I might not be wise, my knees are tired and my feet hurt, but my ears have heard the wise man many times during his preachment … please have a seat. Your knees will hurt and you need to find your way back. I only have one bedroom here.
The stranger stands up and sits on a black leather sofa. The sofa feels cold, sending a chill through his body.
-I’ll be blunt because my time is running out. I don’t know who I am anymore.
-That’s a mystery to me as well, but I know what he would say. Every now and then someone comes by with the same question. Listen, I have it written here. He would say: you are your titles, your possessions, your body, your friendships, your family, your thoughts, your emotions and your experience.
-Is that it?
-Isn’t that enough?
-That doesn’t help me at all. I think he’s mistaken. How can that be all there is? I’ve lost so much, my possessions, my family. I have nothing. I have nothing left to live for.
The stranger’s face is marked with confusion. His eyes dart around in a desperate search for understanding and he sighs deeply several times.
-Dear young man, do you know what a religious man would say? They would say: you are God itself. You and the holy father are one. You are the creator itself, shaping your path, making your existence while you live, with every step you take, like clay moulded by your bare hands. You are the consciousness that transcends time and space, the observer of the world. You are the silent presence in this moment, the universe creating itself, playing and ever expanding. You are one with reality, you are the awareness of all that is, you are the essence of everything. As such, you are connected with everyone and everyone is connected with you. You are never alone, you are freedom, peace and abundance. You are the essence of life. That is your right and your joy.
-How would I know? I am just a stranger looking for answers.
-I think you do my friend, you just have to look beyond your fears, past your losses, deep within yourself. Perhaps you can ask yourself: How can you perceive what you see? How do you know that you have thoughts? There you can find the eternal duality of being, the duality of the material world with your family and possessions as well as the infinite and never-ending world of consciousness. If you get lost in the material plane, you just need to close your eyes and go back to your own essence. You are the duality of existence. That is who you are! Isn’t in that realisation that you can find true freedom?
