by John Usher
Gravity Is A Joke
"It just seems that humans are destined to struggle," I said, watching the spirit of Wisdom shape shift to form a pot plant. "We have no special powers. We are limited to eighty years of life, and cannot even fly." I grumbled. The pot plant drifted to the ceiling as the spirit took on his familiar form once again. He was in a pleasant mood. "Humans have many special powers." He said, diving into the fish bowl. It seemed as if he could communicate with the surprised goldfish. "What special powers do we have?" I flopped down into an armchair, no longer impressed with the spirit or his display. It seemed as if the gold fish enjoyed his company. "What would you say if I told you that aging and gravity was an ancient evil spirit's idea of a practical joke on humans?" The sound echoed out of the fish bowl.
"Practical joke? Huh!"
"Your problem is not the lack of special powers. Your problem is you believing you have no special powers, and acting on that belief." His comment left me stinging. "By not believing in yourself, but believing the joke you pass to your children the curse of a short and flightless life!" He popped out of the fishbowl, and reappeared in front of me. Our eyes locked for a moment, and then he vanished.
Greatest Enemy is Greatest Friend
His fist whizzed past my ear. I defensively pushed his arm away, and moved into a striking pose. The spirit of Wisdom was quick to correct his movement, and successfully defended himself against my attack. He caught my arm at the wrist and twisted my body into the air. I slammed into the mats on the floor of the training centre. Immediately his foot came to rest on my throat, my arm still in his grip and twisted into a locked position. I was helpless. "Observe yourself as would your greatest enemy." He took his foot from my neck and offered me a helping hand up. "In so doing, you become your greatest friend." We took pose for the second round of my combat training.
Guaranteed Answered Payers
I rolled up my car window as the beggar turned and moved to the next vehicle. I grumbled at the beggar's endless plea. Our nation is full of poverty, and I have too little to share with strangers, I thought. The car radio switched itself on, "This is the latest broadcast brought to you by the spirit of Wisdom," the voice boomed over the stereo speakers. "Today's insight for successful living is the proverb; whoever stops his ears from the cry of the poor, will cry himself and not be heard." The radio became silent. Slowly I rolled down my window and whistled for the beggar. On his return, I looked into the sad brown eyes of unanswered cries and place a few pennies in the open hand. The gratitude was sincere, and carried a promise of answered payer.
Have a Heart to Understand
I nagged, "Give me more information so that I can understand what it is you are saying!" The agitated spirit of Wisdom just shook his head. "Information does not bring understanding, it only brings information."
"Cute," I snapped. "So, I have to make heads and tails of your speech on the few words you uttered?"
"According to eastern philosophy, if you have a heart to understand, you will!"
"How do I get a heart of understanding? Wishing won't make it so!"
"True!" The spirit walked to a nearby window and opened it, "Do not understand with your mind. As an observer of life, be involved by feeling it." With a sizzle he turned into a falcon, perched on the sill, "Feeling it," He continued in his feathered form, "will give you understanding!" He turned and launched off the edge with a tremendous beat of his powerful wings.
Hindsight Is Not Foresight!
"That was a bad choice!" I discussed the actions of a friend with the spirit of wisdom. The course of action taken by my friend seemed like the wrong thing to do, as it just worsened his cause. "He should have thought this through a bit better." I was not forgiving.
"He did not have the luxury of hindsight when he made his decision." The spirit was firm.
"He could have made a better choice." I insisted.
"He made the best choice available to him at the time of making that choice!" The spirit shook his head. "With the new information he now has, he can make a better choice!" The spirit expressed his concern over my views of my friend. I maintained that he should have made a better choice. "If hindsight was foresight, every human would be perfect in all their choices!"
Hungry Ego
The spirit of Wisdom laughed as he shook his head. I did something worthy of praise, which I insisted the spirit do – repeatedly! "You have the hungriest ego I have ever seen!" The spirit jokingly refused to give me more applause.
"And when completely full," I laughingly teased, "my ego will remain satisfied for … oh, at least ten minutes!"
I Was Ready To Go
I slumped against the wall as I felt my soul weaken within my body. "Are my words not true?" He had shown me the futility of my hopes. The spirit of Loneliness placed his hand on my shoulder. "With my care, you will be accepted. With me, you will find sweet rest." Pictures of friends jeering faces flashed through my mind. The awareness of my failure swelled up inside and suffocated me. I was ready to give in, give up. I looked into the empty eyes of the spirit of loneliness; his dead smile acknowledged my surrender. "Welcome," he whispered, as I felt my spirit ready itself to leave my body.
"Leave him." Your firm voiced shook the spirit of Loneliness so hard, he loosened his grip on my being. "He belongs to me." You drew the spirits strength and turned it into love and acceptance. The warmth of your embrace filled and strengthened my soul. "He is willing to give up, and go with me!" the spirit of loneliness screamed. "I am comfortable where I am." I uttered, as I regained my strength from your love. In a puff of black smoke the spirit of loneliness left. His final scream of defeat left the stench of sulphur in the air. Thank you for saving me from myself. From the corner of my eye I noted the spirit of wisdom as he saluted you. With the understanding he called you to my rescue, I saluted him.
If You Want The Rainbow, Put Up With The Rain.
"Her answer was yes." I was devastated. The spirit of wisdom looked up at with me. "I am sorry," he said. I had asked the one I loved if she was bored with my affections, and I asked her if she wanted to leave me. "You knew."
"I did." The sympathy in his tone did not appease my anger at him.
"Then why did you not tell me?" The tears ran down my face. I truly thought this love was eternal.
"It is not for us to know the end result of our efforts, lest we never begin them."
"Can't you advise me, so that I can always have a rainbow in my life?" I sobbed.
"If you want the rainbow, you have to put up with the rain."
Judge Well
"How boring is he?" I remarked while observing colleague's life. I noticed the screen saver on my computer screen had changed. The spirit of Wisdom walked into view as my screensaver, shaking his head. A speech bubble appeared next to his disapproving face, "That's no healthy way to judge a man!" Familiar with the spirit of Wisdoms method of rebuking me, I threw my hands into the air. "So it's wrong! Teach me a different way!"
No sooner than the words had left my mouth, when the screen changed. It was as if I was watching a documentary of the private life of my colleague. I watched him play soccer, and retreat with friends for a social, where my dull office companion was bright, witty and intelligent. The scene flipped and I viewed a disadvantaged community benefiting from my colleagues soccer and refereeing expertise. The credits rolled down the screen, and stopped half way. The words "JUDGE A MAN BY HOW HE RESTS!" flashed on my screen. I watched my office associate with new understanding from then on!
Judged By Intention
"I'm glad I don't have to be the judge!" I sighed heavily. The spirit of Wisdom had taken me to a spiritual plateau to show me how judgment worked. We had observed the actions of two separate individuals as a demonstration. One person was deemed faithful and passed the judgment. The other failed. What made it complicated from my point of view is that there was no natur
al discernment between the two people's actions. They moved, acted and spoke in the exact same way. "It's the difference in intention and motivation that separates them," the spirit nonchalantly said. "Wait till someone is judged to fail, and yet they did nothing physically!"
"How can he be judged to fail if he doesn't actually do anything?"
"Intention is more powerful than action. Just believing or fantasizing sets the wheel of judgment in motion."
Labels
"I put all the photos in the album labeled memories." I pointed to the bookshelf filled with files and albums, all clearly marked for easy identification. The spirit of Wisdom shook his head as he chuckled. "What's so funny?" I demanded.
"Humans are so funny insisting that everything have a name or a label. See how you have marked all your files? Humans want to do that with everything they observe." The spirit stretched out his hand and the relevant file slipped out of its resting place, drifted in mid air and gentle stopped in his grasp. "That's how we are able to recognize our world." Bemused, I shook my head at the thought of a noun-less living. "An object that has no name or a creature that defies description defies observation. Because it has no noun, no adjective, your labeling machine of a mind rejects that thing, and it becomes invisible to you."
"I can see everything in this world!" I insisted, looking around the room. I rattled off the names of everything I could see. "Ah yes!" said the spirit. "You see, and call out everything with a name and an adjective attached to it. The room is full of things you have not labeled." He stared blankly at me. "Can you point one out to me?"
Limited Vision, Limited World
"But I cannot see it!" The spirit of Wisdom encouraged me to open my eyes to the fourth dimension, a realm that he calls home. He said that there was a creature standing in the realm, observing me. The spirits attempts at coaching me to "see" into the spiritual realm failed – repeatedly. "Maybe it just does not exist!" I spat.
"It is amazing how your world is limited by the restrictions of your vision!" The spirit persisted with the fruitless lessons.
Love Leads
Last night, as I slept, the spirit of Wisdom came to visit my soul.
He granted me one question for which I wished an answer.
“Who is my guide here on earth?” I asked
“No being guides those on earth, He said, “Here you are guided by love.”
“Whose love?” I begged
He chuckled as he slipped into the night; “Soon,” he called “You will soon see!”
This morning his laughter still echoed in my head, and I opened my eyes to your loving gaze.
The Measure of Generosity
As I put my annual bonus into the charity box, I turned and smiled boastfully to the spirit of Wisdom. "Was that your good deed for the year?" He asked me. I nodded. "And you are proud of your action?"
"It was a lot of money." I beamed.
"Generosity is not measured by giving out of your surplus," the spirit said as he turned to leave. "Generosity is measured when you give out of your need."
Mind And Body Are One.
The spirit of Wisdom lectured me on my posture. He claimed my drooping shoulders, scuffing steps, and eyes focused on the ground dragged my spirit down. He insisted that my mood would be a cloudy one. The spirit claimed that my posture would have a negative influence on my health. "What? Am I going to be a bent over individual in need of frail care?" I scoffed.
"Your mind, your body and your spirit are all connected, and form one being - you!" The spirit growled; "the outside is an image of the inside. The inside is influenced by the outside." His irritation with my ignorance was apparent. In a puff of smoke he disappeared from view, and instantly the telephone rang. I answered. "A better posture will lift your spirit. Test me!" The spirit's voice boomed through the receiver. The phone clicked as the spirit vanished to an unknown world.
"It can't hurt," I said as I put the receiver down. I stood in front of the mirror and straightened my shoulders. I pasted my best smile onto my grey demeanor. I lifted my chin and walked outside. In the garden I stood and filled my lungs with a few deep breaths of morning air. I opened my eyes, and the sun seemed as if it shone a little brighter, and the birds sang a little more cheerful. "Yes," I thought, "mind and body are part of the same system."
My Spot Under The Sun
"Bravo!" The spirit of Wisdom cheered. "Encore!" My embarrassment of discovering an audience burst from my heart and onto my face, while the spirit applauded and called for a replay. "I saw nothing but the ending," he laughed. "And it was fabulous!"
"It is just silliness," I blushed. "A little party trick," I said trying to redeem myself.
"Despise not your abilities. Your gift will make place for you," said the spirit as he patted me on the back. "It will bring you before kings!"
Nipped in the Budget
"What has you so flustered this time?" The spirit of Wisdom had reduced his size to be able to sit in a model Porsche that rested on my display self. I had been working on a business plan and had tossed the paper work into the air in pure frustration. "Not enough money!" I snapped at the spirit. He oozed out of the car and picked up my work as he returned to normal size. "Yes," smiled the often whimsical spirit. "Ambition is often nipped in the budget!"
No Fire Without Wood
I flung the door shut with a bang! Friends' gossip about me had reached my ears. I wanted to get on the phone and do some fighting. "Ouch," said the spirit of Wisdom bluntly. He had turned himself in to a small red ball, and rolled around amusing the cat. "And to what do we owe your good mood this afternoon?" He un-balled himself, and regained his familiar shape. His sudden shape change caused the cat to hiss and speed off into another part of the building. I began relaying the story to the spirit, as I dumped my body onto the couch. "I really should say something." I concluded.
"For the lack of wood, the fire goes out," said the spirit as he returned to the ball shape. "And where there is no whisperer, contention ceases," he said bouncing out of sight in search of his feline friend.
Occupational Honesty
She placed our meals on the table. "It's a pleasure," she blurted after the spirit of Wisdom thanked her. "Is it?" he looked her straight in the eye. She blushed and hastened away to fetch the rest of our order. The spirit and I sat in a steak house discussing the future of the planet, "That was a bit harsh." I thought to myself.
"Not really," replied the spirit. "All that was required was a little occupational honesty."
"Occupational honesty!" I mockingly spluttered. "What the hell is that?"
"When you are dissatisfied with your work surroundings, it is foolhardy to imply that anything was a pleasure. If it was a pleasure, she would do this job for the rest of her life." The spirit poured salt and ketchup onto his meal. "She had no fun, gained no lesson, nor was entertained by bringing this plate of food to this table."
"What is the correct reply?" I mused.
"You are welcome."
One For The Price Of Two
"I think I want a second opinion!" I said sarcastically. The spirit of Wisdom and I had been discussions a course of action I needed to take. "You want a second opinion?" the spirit spluttered jokingly. "A second opinion, other than that of the spirit of Wisdom?" He teased
"Yes!" I grunted. I watched in amazement as a second image of the spirit stepped out of his frame. The two images of the spirit of Wisdom looked at each other, turned to me and smiled. "I am the second opinion you requested," the second image smiled. "My opinion is the same as his!" He pointed to the first image. Both of them erupted into laughter. "Two opinions for the price of one!" Joked the original spirit.
"Huh!" I grunted; "More like one opinion for the price of two!"
Only Feedback
It wouldn't work. After repeatedly trying to get the model aircraft I had designed into the air, without success, I gave up. "It's a failur
e!" I said to the spirit of Wisdom. The spirit had miniaturized himself and was sitting inside the scale model to get firsthand experience of my hobby. "It is not a failure," he said as he squeezed out of the plane, and returned to normal size. "You have simply uncovered a way how not to get this thing into the air!" He laughed and encouraged me to try again.
