It was a summer day. The afternoon heat had summoned clouds from crystal blue, and thunder rolled across the heavens as a reminder; the sky still had a voice. As I trudged onward, the trees whispered poetic verses in my ear as last year’s leaves crunched below in rhythmic accompaniment. Then, there in the forest, as I looked up from my percussive steps, sat a young little faerie proud and poised. She had no wings, yet her eyes were turned skyward. After noticing my approach, they quickly shifted in my direction and she playfully flicked a pebble at my chest saying, “I seek inspiration!”
“Oh is that so?”, I replied. “You’re in luck, my friend, for inspiration is my preoccupation.”
She raised her brow in sudden delight, “I have adventured through the darkest forests and the highest mountains! I have looked danger in the eye! What can you offer me?”
Testing her mastery of metaphor, I answered, “I, too, have scaled the mountains and journeyed to far off places, but my greatest adventure was dancing upon the starry sky.”
She spoke softly, “You found the mirror of your own perception.”
“And behind it my spirit!,” I replied.
“You saw what you wanted to see!”
“And what if it was beautiful?”
“Tell me!,” she insisted, resting her chin on open hands.
“I saw the power of love, and the potential of creation between souls. I smelled the fragrance of individuality, and tasted the sweetness of unity. I met a mystic who locked his heart in the keyless chest, and an angel reaching beyond this life to touch it. I read words that were stolen from the lips of lovers and used to manipulate the masses. I heard the moon tempt the earth with serene melodies, and felt the sun burning for the souls of the disappeared. I passed over a dark chasm at the end of thought, and heard eternity singing from beyond.”
She seemed distracted by children eating watermelon and playing in a stream nearby. There seemed to be something for her in their laughter and delight.
I continued, “But after my adventure, I learned that some of the greatest treasures in life are like those children, and the juice that runs down their faces … simple and sweet. I learned that our shared experiences reveal the most reliable truths. I learned that love is not simply a yearning or ecstasy, but full of respect and care. I learned how grateful I am for a life where I can apply my gifts and give to others. And I learned that though I still seek adventure, I will no longer sabotage my future or squander my well being for its cause.”
“And why do you share this with me?” she asked.
“You ask why a man divulges the depths of his thoughts to someone he has just met. Did the sun withhold light from the Earth the first morning it rose? Do the clouds hold back their rains from the sprouting lily?”
She searched for a clever response, “No, but the lily would drown in heavy rains, and the Earth would become parched without its veil.”
“Then I offer soft evening rain, partly cloudy skies.”
“It is sometimes called foolish for a man to wear his heart on his sleeve,” she replied.
“The breeze does not withhold its breath, nor can raindrops remain hidden in the sky.”
At that moment the clouds entrusted their precious drink, and the precocious pixie sprouted wings.
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