The pendulum is swaying Incessantly, relentlessly, continuously Rocking and swinging. Back and forth. Side to side He stops momentarily And then gets compelled back into motion The potential is there as he stops And then he starts moving - pulled by his desire to do Kinetic is addicting. Jubilant, bubbly, full of exuberance It's fun. Hypnotic and magnetic. Attractive and seductive It's a galvanizing reality. Seemingly enduring and perpetual How Beautiful!
And then things change He starts asking… Do I HAVE to keep going on and on? Why? Is there a purpose? It's so repetitive. So monotonous. So boring Do I have a choice? Can I stop?
He then resolves to realize his promise He wants to rest. Cease the swinging. To finally not do and just be And experience the potential he had seen In those fleeting moments of quietude Self-discovery is so exciting - arousing and invigorating
So he tries to stop his motion He focuses all his attention, thought and being into making this happen But finds himself moving faster The oscillation has become even erratic and random The more he tries the worse it gets He feels depressed and overcome by despondency
Why can't I stop? Why is peace so elusive? Is there a way that I can make this happen? Is there somebody who can help me - who can answer my questions?
He looks around and finds numerous teachers eager to help Each of them offering their technique and method assuring results But these are words and promises - pies in the skies They simply don't work And then he looks carefully Only to find all these teachers themselves swaying like him Albeit in a more artful way, in a more crafty fashion Giving the semblance of stillness But it is not so at all! So how can they really teach? He feels utterly disillusioned
Then he hears a voice from somewhere You are your own teacher my child the voice whispers The more you try the further away you will go All journeys only take you away from your true self Listen to yourself and you will attain Just be yourself You don't have to do anything. Let go! The voice seems so close that it must be coming from within
The voice is so peaceful, radiant and complete It makes him just slip into a state of not doing And slowly his agitation within starts to subside The motion starts to diminish A harbinger of peace as it was. Serenity seems within grasp
Lo and Behold he finds himself not moving at all! He gets immersed in tranquility that he never knew even existed He is in tune with everything In his silence he can hear, feel and experience everybody It's so marvelous that his whole being is exuding love and grace He is ripe!
And then a gust of wind comes along And he finds himself shaken out of this state and moving again He cries - don't take this away from me. Please! But to no avail He is at the mercy of the blowing wind And finds himself swaying as before Why did this have to happen? He is extremely angry and blames the wind and his ill-luck
And then the wind whispers in his ears My beloved friend do not lose faith Let me tell you a little secret It is me as air that helped you come to rest And it is me as wind that is making you move It is me who helped you realize your potential It is me who made you deviate from it I am a manifestation of the pair of opposites This is my nature and you will always get both this and that So my dear one enjoy the swaying too There is peace hidden in it too if only you choose to find it
Having heard this he intuits that the swaying is no different from stillness It is just an unbroken tapestry Woven by the threads of silence Manifesting the supreme fabric of creation He transcends time - paradoxically, experiencing a dynamic unity The swaying sprouts into a joyous, harmonious celebration Turning an Inspired Moment to a Momentous Inspiration!
