Return of the lost pilgrim-Soul Searching (Mine Olde Storyteller´s Lair)-REVISITED

Ah!! Greetings, Time traveler! I am honored you stopped by my lair again. You are just in time to enjoy a good cup of green tea and join me and these little fellows

in a fantastic journey into the depths of imagination and soul searching. You thought I only socialized with humans? Oh, no, my dear time traveler. There´s more than meets the eye! My fellow gnomes here drop by quite often to learn from my scrolls.

C´mon, don´t be a stranger! Grab that stool over there and enjoy your tea. Get to know my little friends for they too are your universal brothers. The journey we are about to begin was written by the hand of the pilgrim who lived it.

It was given to me by his Master so the wisdom of ages could be shared with all soul seekers as you. It happened in the desert of Nairobi, Kenya, (located in the south eastern African continent) many, many moons ago. Now relax, sip on your tea and pay careful attention to the story for there´s priceless wisdom contained in it:

**There are miles and miles of this endless sea of sand, my feet weight on me as if they were made of stone, my lips hardened, parched are so dry I cannot even bind them together, not even with my saliva they soften.

Why? Why all this loneliness? The Master had said this was the path. I see no signs, something different than this terracotta universe that surrounds me.

I am still trying to understand. Why did we have to part our separate ways? We were doing great the three of us. The Master, Antares and myself….

Ah! Antares… How I miss your laughter, your optimism so contagious, that perennial smile of yours. Not even the worst sand storm we endured made your smile vanish from your face. I remember that time I collapsed, badly burned by the merciless heat, and you picked me up as if I were a piece of parchment.

Suddenly, I started yelling at the top of my lungs with what was left of my strength: Masteeeeeeer!!! Antaaaares!! My legs buckled and I left myself fall, weeping with sadness and despair; within the vastness of that solitude I heard a clear voice: ´´moist your lips with your tears, my son .´´ I did just that and some of my tears I put on my tongue, savoring them as if they were heavenly nectar...

It was my Master´s voice, I said to myself…but how?? What was going on here?  Then I heard a graver voice: “Is that all your strength, Aldebaran? What about your promise to be the first in finding The Temple of the Stars?  Ah! My dear brother, you always spoke one word too many.

So this is it? Here lies Aldebaran- the lost pilgrim who never achieved anything. Will that be your heritage? Your memory for those who come after you´ve passed?

Remember: Want, Know, Dare and Be silent. Did you forget the 4 Sacred scrolls the Master insisted so much in teaching us? You? A keen devotee to studying all the Sacred scrolls? I am speechless! I cannot conceive this”

The velvet robe of the night arrived with its unbidden cold. My bones felt as if they would just shatter. I curled into fetal position while the words I had heard earlier continuously echoed in my head. I rummaged through my garment and pulled out the last piece of dried fruit I had left. I ate it very slowly so it would last or at least make myself believe it would. It was hard to chew, though, for the cold made my teeth clatter like castanets.

Seconds later I just gave in to the exhaustion and entered the dream world… Antares, the Master and I were sitting at an oasis, eating fresh dates and drinking from the sweet, cool water. We were laughing like naughty children, asking our Master thousands of questions about the Sacred scrolls. He would smile and say:

“It is not about being able to read the Sacred scrolls but comprehending their message. Remember that. Understand and comprehend have a subtle difference. Sometimes we comprehend without words, but only if we connect to our soul.  The physical body deteriorates, the mind plays games with us, and the heart, oftentimes leads us through winding and painful paths”

The intense shine of the morning sun woke me up almost blinding me. Darn!! It had been just a dream. A sweet but intangible dream!  “I am on my own” I said to myself. Unexpectedly, an incontrollable force made me pull out from my bag one of the Sacred scrolls. I stared at it for a long time and I couldn´t understand one word of it! How was that possible? I knew the Sacred language; I had been the best at it among all of my brothers, why?

I sat there, hopelessly staring at that Sacred scroll which I had recited by memory countless times, and now I didn´t understand one single symbol. I closed my eyes and decided I would let myself die in that horrible world of sand. As I began to let go, words started flowing within me: “The physical body deteriorates, the mind plays games with us… the heart, oftentimes leads us through winding and painful paths … only if we connect to our soul …we must be humble… sometimes we comprehend without words…”

 I opened my eyes slowly; I took all the Sacred scrolls and threw them away, into the wind, and began crawling towards a distant glitter that resembled water. I kept on crawling losing progressively my strength as I moved forward. “An oasis” I said to myself. I gave it all the energy I had to try to reach it, then I felt an explosion in my chest and my heart, slowly, stopped beating…My last words were these: “Even at the expense of your own life, follow your dreams”

My surprise was beyond all comprehension when I opened my eyes and beheld Antares and My Master shining like a hundred suns; I couldn´t utter a word! I approached them and the Master gave me his mysterious smile: “Feel your lips, look at your garment reflected in the waters. What do you see?”  

“My robe… it is…it is shining like yours, Master” I answered. “No, my son, it is the reflection of your soul, as bright as ours. You followed your dream and you have returned to us. The path up ahead will not be any easier, but you will not starve, you will not be cold or hot, nor will you feel pain any longer. Now our souls lead us to the stars, ready to listen to any lost pilgrim seeking the light within, but this is just the beginning, Aldebaran, only the beginning…” **

Wow, it brought tears to my eyes! It always does. Antares and Aldebaran, star brothers that now shine brightly in the Constellation of Taurus, their Master. Ah! little fellows, you cried too? Yes! It is a beautiful story indeed. A timeless message

for those who suffer clinging to the realm of forms. Wealth is beyond material possessions. True wealth exists in the world of the soul.

Well, I have a few errands to run now! I am picking up some new scrolls for my collection. I´ll take it you shall stop by on the next moon, shall you not? Excellent!

Until next time, then, my dear Time Travelers. May the Light always shine on your path!

Universus, the Storyteller

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Copyright ©Alberto J. Alvarez G. ®200

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