desolate fields

Here at Hampi in India, there are many rice fields, paddies. And in the past whenever I have visited, they have been a lush green, vibrant with rice plants. But this time I am here at a slightly different time of year, and when I arrived, the paddies were all bare. They had been drained of their water, and there was only yellowing stubble to be seen. Where normally there was so much life, now there seemed to be no sign of it. The paddies felt desolate.

After a few days, many of the empty rice fields were set ablaze, to burn off the stubble. After that they looked even worse: blackened, sooty. A few more days and some water started to be channeled back into the paddies. But this made them look even worse: black brown mud sludge, in places with a scum on the water. They looked as if no one would want to grow any food in them.

And here and there I've seen someone plowing one of these fields, the old fashioned way with oxen, wading through the shallow water, turning the sooty stubble and the mud, in preparation. But even these fields do not look hopeful. And it's only because of my memories, of lush green rice plants, that I believe that that vitality will return.

And seeing this phase of the rice fields, it reminds me of the great faith we need, during some parts of our spiritual journey. Oftentimes to begin with, we seem to be making great advances, quickly. But for most people, we then enter a period of the doldrums. We might be seeking fervently, and yet the land seems barren, or we feel lost. And it's easy, in these times, to despair, to lose hope – just as looking at these desolate rice fields, one could easily give up on them. But on our spiritual journey we need to find that faith, during those bleak days, months, years. We need to find faith that we are preparing the ground for something wonderful to come. And if we can do that, if we can persevere, and not give up, then one day our inner world will burst forth with a vibrancy to match those rice plants. The very essence of life will have been shown to us. But only if we can survive through those dark patches.