The Journey - A guideline for all of us.

[Luckyone]

I wrote this piece about 30 years ago and just ran into again today and it is very relevant to what is happening now and what we must do to get out of this problem we are facing. It is a long piece, meaning it will take 3 posts for it to be fully told.

The Journey

During our youth and then throughout the years since, we have read, in books and stories, and heard, through whispers and hushed conversations, of a beautiful garden that many people have said exists in the deepest part of the jungle. It is a place where a bed of beautiful flowers blooms that symbolizes the beauty of humanity and the purpose of life...... a bed of flowers of such incredible beauty that when just one flower is plucked and held by two people, at the same time, will instantly fill that couple with joy and purpose (the likes of which no one can ever find without it). This beautiful flower is called "The Heart Of Love" and can only be plucked by two people who are pure of heart and who have learned to work together as a team (in every which way) for the flower can only be taken from its perch if both take it at the same time and with the same strength.

We, if you and I decide to embark on this journey to find the flower together, must begin a quest which will take us through a jungle full of dangers and perils that we must face together. Only by successfully working as a team and loving each other totally and unconditionally will we be able to overcome all the obstacles that will present themselves and reach the place where "The Heart Of Love" resides.

There will be many cities that we will have to visit on the way to the starting point of our journey and each city will contain a necessary ingredient that we will need in order to battle the rigors of the jungle successfully. Every city will teach us a lesson that will be difficult to learn or cause us pain but necessary for our quest. At every stop we make we will also have the opportunity to say "no" (if the trip gets to be too rough or scary) and go home unfulfilled but unscathed.

The first city we will go to is called "Hope" and there we are to purchase as much hope as we can carry for "Hope", the food of the soul, is an essential nutrient to our emotional strength. It is our emotional stability that will be severely tested and battered as we journey through the jungle and face the frustration of encountering difficult or even close to impossible obstacles in our path. This will be, by far, the easiest of the cities we will visit as "Hope" is readily available when it is not needed and easily found in great quantities in those places that stock it. We will have to make sure, though, that we carry a large amount on our trip as "Hope" will be very quickly consumed when problems arise and is rarely found in the jungle where problems abound....

The second city we will visit is called "Honesty" and there we will need to learn how to open up our souls and elucidate our feelings, desires, principles and thoughts. Only by doing this we can begin to master the ability to know exactly who we are (our strengths and weaknesses), what we each feel, are willing to do, where our goals lie, and how much we can depend on each other when problems occur. Through complete knowledge of each other's strengths and weaknesses we will we able to learn how to work as "one" and reach our goal. "Honesty" will be hard to master for it will require us to open our souls to close inspection, face our deepest fears without flinching and admit vocally to our weaknesses. Only by doing this can we gain the "Honesty" we require to work together and solve any disagreements we may have.

Our third stop will be the city of "Trust". "Trust" is often called "The cement of a relationship" for is the necessary ingredient that will keep us working as a team. "Trust" will allow us to concentrate on fighting our enemies and not fighting among ourselves. The city of "Trust" is very quirky for it is a city where the more "Trust" you give the more "Trust" you will receive in return. We must learn to "give" before we receive as only this way will we be able to get enough "Trust" to help us during our journey. At this city we will come to realize that when "Honesty" and "Trust" are put side by side they create a shield that will protect us from "doubts", "misunderstandings", and "uncertainties". These are some of the worst creatures we will face during our ordeal and we must learn to triumph over them. "Trust" will not be easy to obtain as it requires us to open our minds and hearts and throw our fear of pain away. Fear of pain and mistrust are especially hard to throw away since they have existed in our lives for many years.

 

[Luckyone]

Second part

The fourth city we will need to visit is called "Love", and it is a place we are likely to enjoy very much. It is a city that is constantly alive and full of happiness and those emotions will bring a constant smile to our faces and fill our souls with joy. We must be very careful here as the city is filled with the "trappings" of "Love" such a kissing, touching, attention, and romance. The real "Love" we need is hidden deep within our own hearts and can only be discovered and brought out if we let our hearts lead the way and not our physical senses. The biggest problem we will face in this city is that it will be very easy to mistake "Love of Love", which disappears at the first sign of problems or danger, with "Real Love" which begins slowly and comes from deep within our own heart and stays forever. To learn how to discern the difference between them will be very difficult as they both feel almost the same. We will first need to master how to give "Love", totally and unconditionally, so that we can then realize which of the two we are getting back in return. This lesson will be very difficult and tricky to accomplish but extremely important because only with "Real Love" can we find the pureness of heart that we will need at the end of our quest.

The fifth city "Determination" will be specially tough for both of us as it will require learning how to merge our own minds with our own hearts to work as one. "Determination" requires will power and sacrifice and many of the things that either our mind or our heart enjoy will have to be put aside. Only by bonding within ourselves will we be able to bond with each other. It is here we must learn to focus all the power of our minds with the strength of our feelings so that we can concentrate "all" our efforts on finding the way to reach our goal. It is a city that will constantly bombard our physical senses with fleeting pleasures as well as confuse our hearts with a myriad of feelings and only by finding the "Determination", within ourselves, will we be able to leave with what we need to continue on our journey. One of the biggest problems we will face, as we leave this city, is gauging just how much "Determination" the other has achieved.

The sixth city, "Commitment", is a real strange city for "Commitment comes in many different types. We must be very careful to learn how to communicate and compromise with each other so that we can purchase the same type of "Commitment" that will lead us, as a team, to our mutually agreed upon objective. Compromise will be the key word here as we will both have to give up some of our favorite pet "Commitments" and that may require a painful sacrifice. In the city of "Commitment" we will be assaulted by people we know and hold dear to us that will constantly be asking us to change our "Commitment" to the type they want us to have. Only if we are strong, as a team, and agree mutually to the same type of "Commitment" will we be able to leave this city with the "Commitment" we need to reach our goal.

The seventh city will be named "Patience" and it will require us to use our minds rather than our emotions. It is a city that will teach us the value of waiting for the right time to accomplish our goal. Our trip will likely be long and tough and "Patience" will often be required. There will be many times where we will need to wait for the right moment to forge ahead with our plan or hold back and rest while a problem passes through. "Patience" is very slippery and often disappears when subjected to stress or frustration. We are likely to face many perils that will cause both of those emotions to surface and it will be necessary to purchase a healthy dose of "Patience". We will need to make sure we have it safely stored away so we can bring it out when it is needed. "Patience" is also critical to the success of our quest as it works as a support base for "Determination". If we lose our "Patience" then our "Determination" will suffer and that would be disastrous to our quest. We will also need to learn how to pool our "Patience" because if one of us loses theirs we will need to depend on our partners supply to finish the quest.

 

[Luckyone]

Third part

The last city we will visit, "Faith", will be, without a doubt, the most important of all. "Faith" is such an intangible product that we will be totally unable to know for certain if we were even able purchase any of it until we need to use it. "Faith" can only be purchased with our hearts (our minds, eyes and physical senses are useless here). Travel through "Faith" will be very difficult for it is a city where we will be assaulted with many fact and figures that will fill us with overwhelming doubts. These elements will attack our senses and try to impair our progress. They can cause us to lose focus on the purpose of our journey and doom our quest before it even begins.

"Faith" is a place that is populated with many people that have not been successful in obtaining "Faith" in the past and who will constantly urge us to stop searching for it. They will state that "Faith" does not exist and those who search for it are fools. This city will be particularly hard to traverse if any of our closest friends or relatives are there. Their lack of "Faith" is often masked by "good intentions" and those will be particularly difficult to overcome because they will come from people whose opinions we normally respect and often listen to. We must try to make sure, before we depart from this city, that we leave our doubts behind for "Faith" will not appear if doubts exist. We need "Faith" to help us to find the "pureness of heart" that will be required to pluck the "Heart Of Love" from its perch..

Upon visiting all these cities and obtaining as much as we can of the items that we need we will we once again get the opportunity to sit down and talk to ask ourselves to see if the quest is something we both want to accomplish and if we are ready to tackle the harshness of the jungle. If the answer is a resounding "yes", from both of us, we will need to begin our journey together to reach the ultimate goal - The Heart of Love"…..

I do know that when the quest is begun we will encounter many trials and tribulations which will test each and every one of our purchases we have made. "Hope" will be needed in great quantities when facing the visually impenetrable jungle foliage that will seem impossible to forge through and "Honesty" will be needed to uncover our strengths and weaknesses so that we can help each other in the correct way and work as a team. "Trust" will be utilized when we are inevitably attacked by those forces that will be trying to prevent us from reaching our goal and only by trusting each other will we be able to find the strength, as a team, to claim victory. "Love" will be our food (nutrition for our souls) as it has the needed ingredients to give us the strength to continue. "Dedication" will allow us to carry through even though our bodies may tire of the journey and "Commitment" (of the same kind) will help us pool our resources and find the strength and purpose that only working as a couple can give…

The last item we will be required to use is our "Faith" in "Love"(our most important purchase). We will need to have a sufficient amount of it to pass the hardest and final test we will ever face in our journey. Our minds, that part of ourselves we have learned to depend on and that has helped us survive all the emotional trials and tribulations we have endured during our existence, will need to be put aside and "Faith" will need to take its place. Only by putting aside that part of ourselves that does not feel (our minds) will we be able to find the purity of heart and true love that we will need to pluck the "Heart of Love" from its perch.

So with this in mind I must ask………….

Are we ready to start our journey?

 

[Luckyone]

Are we ready to start the journey together?