at every point

At every point on the path

The way ahead is impenetrable

Only one more step is possible

I am taking a walk on a not so often trodden path in rural India. And whenever I look ahead, it seems the path is blocked here by a fallen tree, there by a rock, next by some spiky plants. And yet I can always take one more step, and as I take that step, I see a little further down the path: it takes a turn, it avoids the obstacle. There's a way to duck under that fallen tree. There's a way around the rock and the thorny bushes. The path twists and turns. It heads up hill and down. And I don't know where it is leading me.

And all of this reminds me of what it is to take the spiritual journey. We follow some sort of path, but we don't know where it is leading. And whenever we try to look ahead along the path, it seems to be full of impenetrable obstacles. We cannot imagine that it's possible to find a way through. And so of course the temptation is to give up, to turn back, to abandon our spiritual journey. But fortunately the spirit is alive in us, and it will not allow us to give up, and so we take one more step. And in this way we progress. Our journey continues.

The next step is always possible, and if we are in tune with existence, then we intuitively know what to do in every moment. We know how to take the next step. We know intuitively. And if we can trust that then our way becomes easy, living in the moment, flowing, but never knowing where we are going, nor knowing how we will pass those obstacles. So find trust and the courage that is needed to take that step. In this way, not only is the journey possible, but the journey itself is a homecoming, coming back to our true self, coming back to being.