fertile terraces

Fertile terraces

Cradle the old village

High above

The rugged mountain awaits

Life can be become very comfortable, especially in this modern age, where so much of human endeavour has focussed on making life comfortable, safe, secure, predictable. And of course, when we find ourself in a comfortable situation, we are inclined to stay in that situation.

In this little poem, the fertile terraces cradling the old village symbolise this secure, comfortable, homely life. And there’s nothing wrong with it. Except, we tend not to grow when we are living a comfortable life. And the spiritual path is all about growth: growing into our essence; flowering as a human being; becoming fulfilled; fulfilling our potential as spiritual beings. And all of this tends not to happen when we are sitting back in the armchair, being comfortable.

And so this little poem goes on: High above, The rugged mountain awaits. And here of course, the rugged mountain is anything but comfortable. It’s a cold, uninviting place: dangerous, unknown and requiring great effort to discover and explore. Sitting in the armchair won’t do it. The mountain is awaiting us. But to set foot on the mountain, we have to step away from that comfortable, safe way of living. We have to expose ourself. We have to step into that unknown, dangerous world of the rugged mountain.

The mountain has often been used as an analogy to the spiritual path. We are climbing a mountain. It’s hard work and we don’t know quite where it will lead us. It feels dangerous, anything could happen. We could fall and die. This is the feeling of the seeker as he explores his inner world. And yet this work must be done if we are to fulfil ourself, our potential, here on Earth.

So how will it be for you? Will you stay, sitting on the sofa, surrounded by creature comforts; fed by those fertile terraces; enjoying the village that has been there for so long, providing for your every need? Will you? Will you sit out the rest of your life, ignoring that rugged mountain high above? Or do you find your eyes turning upwards? Do you find yourself being called: Up, Up, Up?