The world is made up of many particles, floating in a pattern that eventually makes an organism, and carries a life of its own. In the magnitude of the universe, it seems small and insignificant, but there is no such thing. To pass when I did, at a time when I was so enthralled with the universe and what it could do, was only magnified when I died and saw from a new perspective, what it could really do. There is nothing more astounding, and yet perfect and simple to understand when you see how it all connects. Look to the sky and you see patterns of stars and galaxies, and a sun that everything revolves around. What you don’t see is the effect the pull has on the Sun.
The Sun is not a stand-alone, unaffected by the motion around it. It is affected by everything that pulls at its energy and atmosphere, and is as moved by negative pulls as the entity pulling at it. But the motion is natural and necessary, and everything in the Universe moves as it needs to, to adapt and survive. When one does not adapt or work within the system in a way that is beneficial for the whole network, there is resistance that causes a chaos within the natural progression. Ironically, unlike other factors in nature, human nature is meant to be chaotic. With conscience, intelligence and industry comes problems to be created and solved using these faculties. If we did not have the influence of our own ego, human relations would be easy, and it is not meant to be easy. But it is meant to be overcome. Every obstacle is made just high enough to be a challenge, but not too high to be insurmountable. So, with our tendency to pull toward the ego, neediness, anger and selfishness in ourselves, comes a factor in our psyches and personalities that is generous, charitable, and able to see past the basest corners of ourselves. We are capable of a great many things, but we are quick to say, “I can’t.” We are capable of charity and unselfish love, but we are moved to say, “I won’t.” Why?
Why does the pull of the ego win so often? Why is the design as such that our greatest foe is our own human frailty? Such strength and destruction comes from inside ourselves, and this is something that should be celebrated. We are made up of stuff so unimaginably complex and so in our own favor. What makes up the Universe, makes up us: the complexities; the perfection of motion and chemistry and biology that was created to give us the most perfect vehicle to negotiate this obstacle, this miracle of life and every mountain and plain in it. The mountains are there to show us what we are capable of; the plains, so we can see where we’ve been, where we have yet to travel, and the beauty and miracle of all of it. And the beauty and miracle of what we are.
Tragedies always seem a set-back, but there is something inherent in them that is crucial to recognize – the opportunity, the mountain, and most importantly, the pilgrimage climbing the mountain with you, and the chance to hold each other’s hands while you make that journey together. This life is a privilege, as is every obstacle in it. You are entrusted with the decisions for how to deal with the challenges that face you, because you have it in you to make something wonderful out of something that seems hopeless. Is the view from the top of the mountain not exponentially more breathtaking than the one from the plains?
When you close your eyes and see before you a world you want to know, it is a gift and a motion to you to make that world happen. With every step you have a chance to create or destruct, and nothing else. Even stagnance is a form of destruction, because it is not a motion forward. Turning away from a challenge is motion backward. To keep moving forward is to walk against the tide, and the inertia which is so much easier to move with. But with the courage to move forward, also comes guidance and cooperation from the Universe. It moves independently of us, but also with us. Space, nature, and the pull of human connection depends on our treatment of every aspect in them, both physically and spiritually. When you see in yourself what you can become, you recognize in the world what you are capable of contributing. And that’s what our mission on earth is about: contribution. The contribution of selfless acts and curious minds. The contribution of truth seekers and those who can love and forgive through the most painful of moments. And of those who can reach out to someone else when they feel they have given the last of themselves just to get through the day. What you do in the moments when you feel you have nothing to offer, are the most powerful things you will ever do. And if you could see what that looks like from this perspective, you would do it every chance you got. But for now, you have work to do there. You have yourself to give, and in that giving, growth. You can take my word for what that looks like from here – the top of the mountain.
