The Mountain in the Sea

There’s a mountain in the sea. I feel the roots running through mine and strengthening me, but the people are different. They walk upon the surface of the earth and know not the life this mountain brings. Messengers have come from the mountain in the dead of night, brining news of day, but the people slept in disbelief. Now that the sun has risen for days, months, years, the villagers no longer suffer from the night. They go on with their lives as if night will not last because the coming of dawn is all they know.

Few do know of this mountain though, and they travel years to see it. They gaze out across the ocean into the mist. Mist covers the mountain from head to foot, at least that’s what they believe. Indeed, no man can tell where the mountain begins and ends. They know not how much of the mist it occupies. Does the mountain come to the very edge of the mist? Does it only rise like a tiny hill out of the sea? What really lies there?

Life in the Jungle

In a jungle in the south, monkeys throw things at creatures walking along the ground. Humans and zebras and donkeys and swine walk through the jungle on their daily routines, while nut shells and rocks and bits of twigs or leaves bombard them. They go about their day annoyed by the monkeys in the trees and longing to escape.

A Thought about Gravity

There is a thing called gravity. It pulls my leaves to the ground after they have drifted through the atmosphere and pulls the rain from the clouds. It gathers together the children of humanity and keeps them from drifting off into the outer limits of their imagination.

Some people try to escape gravity. They invent ways to fly on the wings of the dawn, and blast through the thin layer of life surrounding our planet to drift into the blackness beyond. Others, simply dream about a life without gravity and gaze at the stars for ages. They watch the stars rising in the east, and they stay up with the full moon to watch them set in the west. They the sky's patterns and paths and determine when a star is new and when it is old, when the planets align and when they travel their courses without interruption. As they gaze into the black, they find something new.

Many Paths up the Mountain

There are many paths up the same mountain. Some curve around the trees and rise softly to the top, while others cut through the underbrush and scale cliffs to make it to the top in the least amount of time. People hurry along the paths and each one claims his path is the only one.

“If you don’t travel on my path, you will never make it to the top!” one yells.

“No!” someone yells back, “My path is the Only One! You are going to die in this fight!”

“You are so stupid!” a third person yells, “Both of you are wrong. Why can’t you see THIS path is the only one to the top?”

 “We’re all going to the same place,” another says, “Why can’t we all get along?”

The Edge of Infinity

He climbs the untrodden path, darkness surrounding him as he trusts his feet to find the trail. How long has he been climbing? How much farther to the top? This mountain is never-ending  When he first set foot upon it, he thought it would be easy, and at first it was, but each step becomes steeper. Any moment he expects to find a cliff in front of him--something that can be scaled at first, but soon it will turn to glass. And then what?

Quitting is not an option. He will have to find a way. As his feet follow each other, he knows this, but will he remember when the road seems impassible?

When You Need Armor

He stood in the middle of the battlefield. The enemy was there, ready to make the first move, but waiting for the opportune moment. They looked at him. They watched him. He was vulnerable.

When he woke up and walked out of the house he didn't stop to put on his armor. He used to put on his armor every day, but he got busy. He got busy and never needed it anyway. He walked out of the house and met his friends. He went through life with them and encountered the difficulties of life, but nothing he needed armor for.

The Baobab Seed

“Beware the baobabs,” the little prince says.

Yes, I say, beware of the baobabs. Because once a baobab has taken root it will never cease to grow. It will grow and grow and grow. It will take root in the heart of the earth and its roots will grow. They will grow as nothing before and break up the foundations.

The Ends of the Earth

I look up at the stars. I listen to their voices. They sing of the things that have been and the things to come. I see my sisters dancing there. I watch the crescent moon shine down on me as she sings the world to sleep. I listen to her song.

She sings of a girl and I see her in my mind. She asks the question, “If my father is always with me, where is my father?”

“Right here,” comes the reply.

She looks up to see him standing there. He holds out his hand and she takes it. Without looking behind her she follows him.

The path below leads her straight. It takes her through the stars and across the galaxies. She looks down as they travel over the constellations and enter the realms of other worlds. The dust rises to meet her. It welcomes her. For centuries the dust has gathered on this narrow path. It  has gathered in anticipation for the one who was to come, and now he is here. He leads her by the hand, with her always, even to the ends of the earth.

“The ends of the earth,” she asks, “Where is that? Is it the place farthest from home?”

Fighting Death

I don’t know much about death, because I am a tree, but I would like to let you know—death isn't a thing anymore.