A Parable

I sat down on the wooden bench so that I could watch the birds and listen to the stream. It wasn’t my intention to engage the older man sitting on the other end, his walking stick in his hand.

After a minute, he asked me what was on my mind. No introduction and no small talk to precede it. I’m accustomed to being the one to engage in such a manner. 

Without preamble, I told him the truth in the simplest way I thought possible.

“I can tell you the answer, but you won’t believe it,” he said, nodding and shaking his head.

“I’m game. Let’s hear it.”

“You need a mirror.”

I knew he wasn’t referring to my appearance. 

“Yes. You’re metaphorically saying I am the source of my problems. Because I damn well know what they are and choose to tread water.”

“You are not a tree. You were created mobile. But you were also given reason and memory. It seems to me that you believe that your past controls you. Action is what is required. That coupled with remembering that thoughts have no power unless you give them such.”

I smiled. “Easier said than done!”

He smiled back at me. “No, it is easier done than said. Thinking is the problem. You know who you are and what you need to do. Now get up and do it. It’s going to be hard either way. Wouldn’t you rather reach my age and feel like your life reflected your choices rather than trying to find a way to make the unworkable work for you?”

I set silently for a moment. The old man continued to look up at the trees and watch for birds. 

As I stood up, I nodded toward the man.

“I’m walking now. Thank you.”

“Don’t stop,” he said and smiled.

The birds above us took flight from the cover of the leaves and darted away. 

Love, X