Awakening

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The boy tightens his grip on the ancient tree branch and tries not to think about it’s withered and desiccated roots, clinging with extreme fragility to the barren dust and rock. He steels himself and leans out, peering into the gaping maw of the gigantic chasm. The world immediately tilts and tries to cast him down as his senses try desperately to process the awful magnitude of the place. He gasps involuntarily as the branch shifts in his sweat-slickened hand. No longer can he sense the thundering of his terrified heart. There is simply no room to perceive more than the deep, mountainous grinding that seems to belch up from the heart of the abyss. Like the gears of time itself, propelling the universe inexorably along the fabric of space and time. This was a colossal process as old as perception and he knew with profound certainty that whatever went in there, was never coming out.

He carefully pulls himself back from the rim of the gaping abyss and standing next to the ancient tree, ponders what he has seen. He feels awestruck, intimidated and somewhat hopeless. A huge, guttural roar suddenly fills the air and his eyes snap towards the direction of the sound. Far on the other side of the chasm, a huge figure gradually becomes visible. It has the appearance of a troll and is the size of a mountain. A bright blue jewel, marbled with green is being carried in it’s massive arms. The creature reaches the far rim of the chasm and with a great heave and triumphant roar, casts the jewel out over the edge of the abyss. The boy instinctively screams…

“No!”

Tears fill his eyes, his arms flung out in a futile gesture of opposition. He watches, mouth agape, as the bright jewel is swallowed and listens as the horrible grinding momentarily intensifies. No coming back. His vision has become blurred and he feels himself collapse to the stony ground.

Gradually awareness returns. It was a vision. As it’s vestiges recede, the boy becomes aware of a dry, frail hand gently clasped in his own. He is sitting on the ground beneath an ancient oak tree, opposite a wizened old man who is wearing only a loincloth.

Boy - “I…I had a vision.”

Old man - “Yes. What did you see?”

Boy - “I saw the heart of the universe.”

Old man - “What did you learn?”

Boy - “That the forces of the universe are indifferent. They belong to a process so vast, so massive, that consciousness, real or illusory, is too fragile and fleeting to have significance. Oblivion awaits us all. It’s not our resistance that is important, but how we resist. What will that period of time between one oblivion and another be like?”

Old man - “Please, continue.”

Boy - “There is a choice to be made....between tyranny and freedom, ignorance and enlightenment, hate and love. We will evolve or devolve because we are fast approaching the point of no return, where on a large scale, these traits and their consequences may no longer co-exist without ruinous subjugation and mutual destruction. The question is, how much do we value the one over the other....not just for ourselves, but for every being that comes after?”

Old man - “How much indeed.”

The boy sits quietly for a moment.

Boy - “I wish everyone could see my vision. If they could, they might realize that there is nothing at stake and yet everything is at stake.”

Old man - “They will experience their own vision…..and will make their choice.”