People go everywhere these days, don’t they?

Everywhere, except within themselves.

Yes, we can go anywhere.

We travel far, and proudly photograph ourselves at the peaks of mountains we believe we’ve “conquered”,
and the feet of gurus we desperately hope will tell us what to do, how to live, whom to be.

We parade our pictured progress on illuminated screens, for others to see, and approve of.

If it’s not caught on camera, then it didn’t happen, right?

Right?

We can go anywhere, we’ve gone everywhere, and look –
we have the pictures to prove it.

Everywhere, but inside ourselves.

There’s no camera there.
No filter.
No flash.
Nothing but a deep, deep call,

Or no call at all,

Just… presence

humanness

heartbeat

life blood

thoughts

worries

joy

desire

aches, and pains, and longing

fears

wounds

memories

unease, and disease, and maybe, ease,
if we stay long enough to land on it.

God, it’s a mess down here.

A glorious mess.

Few of us dare to step into it.

We dance around it, sure.
But precious few of us stay and linger and make ourselves at home.

Few of us question whether our awakening is a caffeinated sleepwalk, served in a commodified cup.

We simply sip our coffee (or kombucha, or kefir) and keep going.

Here, and then there.

Oh, look – now, people are going that way too! Wait up!

Just like twigs bobbing in a restless river, we hope that someone or something else will carry us to where we’re meant to be.

And where is that?

Everywhere?
Nowhere?
Here?

In here, there is no camera - only the naked truth.

Too bad nakedness and truth are equally indecent these days.

So let’s put on our disguises, and escape again.

We can go anywhere, we can go everywhere –

But staying here,
Being here,
Allowing ‘here and now’ to pierce us with their bull’s-eye arrows… Ouch.

That hurts.

We’d much rather build rocket ships that blast us into space, than sit and hold a polished mirror to our face.

What does that say about our ‘evolved’, ‘enlightened’ race?

Have we gotten anywhere?
Perhaps that’s not the case.

We’re nowhere, all the time,
until we’ve found a trace
of the gentle warmth within us
and the plentitude of grace.

So come now, arrive gently.
Please don’t rush – there’s no race.

Bring your empty cup
and let Truth give you a taste
of your deepest,
simplest,
purest
self – don’t let this go to waste.

Lost At See

Chapter Book