Seeker

“Why are we here, Mystic one? What is the meaning of life?” The Seeker sat at the foot of the Swami in rapt attention.

“The answer to your question lies in the question itself, my child.”

The Seeker gave this response some thought, but eventually had to admit to her ignorance. “I don’t understand. The answer is in the QUESTION?”

“Yes. More precisely, the answer IS the question.” Again, he paused. The Seeker’s face showed even more confusion. “Our purpose in life is to experience life. In the ACT of experiencing, we become more. When we become more, we move to a different level of perspective, from which we experience more.”

The Seeker’s face revealed the internal struggle to understand.

The Swami added a final thought. “The same experience from a different perspective is not the same experience.” The two sat in silence for several moments, as the teacher allowed the student to internalize the lesson.

The Swami took note of their surroundings; birds singing and flying back and forth. Warm sun on naked skin. A gentle breeze. The smell of wildflowers. He smiled, then closed his eyes in meditation.

The Seeker knew nothing of the birds, sun, breeze or flowers. Only the frustration of not being able to pull the lesson from the words of the Swami. After a short time, her mind wandered to other things. Would she ever “get” it? Was this a waste of time? Was she too stupid to understand? How could she be too stupid? Her friend Lucy seemed to understand so much more than SHE did, and she was far smarter than Lucy. Why was she friends with Lucy, anyway? How did they meet?Was it at a party?Whose party?One of Joey’s?Ugh!So glad he finally got married.Joanna is good for him.Got him to upgrade his wardrobe and move out of that lousy apartment, finally.What a pit!How can anybody LIVE like that?I’d shoot myself first.No way I’d EVER own a couch that ratty.I need to get a new couch, I think.I’m tired of the one I have.What should I get?Leather?But I don’t want to contribute to the slaughter of innocent animals.If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.That’s so cliché.Clichés are cliché, I think.Hehe.That’s funny!I need to get a t-shirt with that printed on it.I wonder if Amazon does that.They do everything else.Why not?They probably do.What DON’T they do?

For 10 minutes, the Seeker’s mind rambled on and on and on. Not stopping. Not needing to take a breath. Not caring. Unaware of anything but the hundreds and hundreds of its own disjointed thoughts.

Until a fly settled onto the back of her neck. In that instant, the Seeker was returned to the moment.