There are a few who in the practice of meditation climb so high that they can see from the top of the mountain. They are the mystics, to be found in all religions. The rest of us trudge along the foothills, knowing we may never glimpse the summit. And the journey is rarely easy. All who have walked the route to Compostela know how rough the terrain can be, and how on arrival at a hostel one sometimes finds the toilet rolls have run out or one is kept awake by the loud snores of fellow travellers! A pilgrimage makes demands. But we plod on!
Tag: perseverance
Waiting
In past centuries those wanting to enter a monastery would be made to stand outside for three days and nights. Only if they persevered would they then be admitted as postulants. And so it is with all who meditate. We sit outside a door waiting for it to open. Occasionally it does. We hear music from beyond and yet we know it is not our time to enter. It is our task to wait patiently at the threshold. That is all we have to do.
Loving
However much we may love another human being and however important their role in our lives, we must never seek to possess them. Even if we are linked in marriage or a civil partnership we have to learn to stand on our own feet, work out our own problems, rather than lean too heavily on our partner – who will be on their own unique journey. We also need to recognise that in a long-term relationship it can sometimes seem as though love has died. It is important to trudge on through the desert, knowing that if we persevere we shall in due course come to a new oasis where love flourishes afresh. We have but to persevere.