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Parched and pained in the prison of circumstances, tired of obligations. It seemed like I had reached a point of break off. I was saturated. I wanted to run away afar to endless vast open spaces, feel free like a bird in the sky.

As always, stones and mountains beckoned me. When the wind blew, it whispered something into my desperate soul. When I touched stones and wondered at the stillness of granites and sand used in ancient temples, they told me, “We are all connected.”

I had wanted to sit under the shade of a tree and rest. I wondered why I chose this life, that of this world and realized that I had come here to ‘feel’, to know what humanity was all about. Every time I was sad, hurt or desolate, an inner voice said, “Feel this! Take it. Feel the pang and know it!” Perhaps this resolve helped me live through some of the most excruciating situations that one confronts in the journey of life.

I was walking amidst trees. Tall trees. Foliage covered the earth below. Stones lay all around. Big and small.

Feeling forlorn some moments and relieved in the presence of nature at other moments, I kept walking in tandem, touching the trunks of trees and in love with the rocks. I was looking for a place to sit and stretch.

Then I found myself at a place where there were only rocks, huge rocks. Their sight filled me with some kind of joy that cannot be expressed in words.

I spotted a man sitting on one of those rocks. He was wearing white robes. He had a venerable face. His face radiated calmness. His aura was white and pure. He saw me and said, “Come and sit near me, flower child.”

I went towards him and sat by his side. It was as if I had known him for ages and he too had known me for a long time. He was familiar.

“I am tired, I said. “Can’t take anymore, I want to go home.”

I put my head on his shoulder, and there was a drop of tear in my eye.

He placed his hands on my cheek and said, “Don’t worry. Everything is for a moment only.”

“Don’t lose your way, don’t fumble. All that light that has come your way, hold onto it.”

“Life is a passing moment. Do not grieve because you feel betrayed. Do not feel sad because you have never felt like anybody’s child. Don’t lose your balance just because circumstances are not in your favour.”

I said, “Days are going by, rolling fast. I find myself carried away with the tide. In the fast whirling tide and I have no control, there is nothing that I am able to do, but just flow.”

“I know dear. Feelings are like wisps. Today here, gone tomorrow. You know this well. Don’t get carried by them, instead follow the reasons. Accept life as it is and keep walking. Everything will change soon.”

“Nothing is permanent in this world. You have come a long way. Don’t look back, keep walking. The way you wake up each day and keep smiling all the time. I wonder what drives you?” He smiled.

I told him, “Yes, I will keep walking and do my work. Do all that I can and leave this world in peace when I am called.”

I was comforted by the saint. He was the Essene. The Therapeut. He offered me solace.

The stars above illuminating the infinite sky tell me, “Nobody is alone. The stars are always with you.”

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