“When you are ready, the teacher will appear.”  The teacher said to his philosophy students.

“That is a famous saying that has lived on for years.”

One student sitting in the classroom listened intently about the meaning of those words.  She had been struggling in school and in her life in general.  It seemed that nothing was working out the way that she had hoped.  She had just broken up with her boyfriend.  Her grades were barely passing, and she was losing interest in college as a whole.  She wondered about quitting college altogether and going out and getting a job where she could make some money and take it easy for a while.

As she was walking back to her dormitory she saw a man sitting on a bench by the path.  She saw students hustling back and forth by him, without seemingly noticing him.  He was not a beggar or homeless person, at least he did not have that appearance.  However, he didn’t really seem like a student or a parent of a student either.  The man was old enough to be her grandfather and seemed to have an “energy” around him.  She could not really explain it, but she was drawn to him.

She decided to sit on the other end of the bench.  The man said nothing.  He just seemed to be enjoying the beautiful view of the mountains in the distance.  The campus was a beautiful campus, but she seldom sat and looked around long enough to enjoy that beauty.

As she sat on the bench she decided to take a few moments to enjoy the view as well.  After some time she stood up, made eye contact with the man, smiled and moved on.

For the next several days, whenever she walked on the path, the man was sitting in the same position on the bench.  She decided always, to spend a few minutes sitting as well.  No words were ever spoken, but they always smiled at each other.

One day, when Stacy was upset about her situation, she went to the bench hoping to see the man, but he was not there.  She looked around for him, but decided to sit quietly anyway.  She found herself so tired that she drifted off to sleep and began to dream.

The man was there with her in her dreams.  He was off in the distance sitting on a bench overlooking a peaceful pond.  The sun was beginning to set and the sky was beginning to fill with color.  She walked over and sat on the other end of the bench.  The two of them sat in silence enjoying the view.

Finally, Stacy asked, “who are you?”

“Who are you?”

“I am Stacy.  I’m a freshman at State College.”

“That’s not who you are.  I asked who are you?”

Stacy thought for a few more moments.  She didn’t quite understand the man’s question.

“I am Stacy and I’m nineteen years old.  I was born in Park City, Utah.”

“What I mean is who are you inside?”

Stacy thought some more.  She was beginning to understand.

“Oh, I am a loving person who just wants to leave the world a little better with me in it, rather than with me not in it.  As silly as that sounds.  However, I don’t think anyone really cares about me right now.  I think the world doesn’t even know I exist.”

“I see.  Do you know that you exist?”

“Of course. I know, but no one else seems to know.”

“Well then, that is all that you need.  It is what you think on the inside that matters, and only that is what matters.”

Stacy then awoke from her sleep.  She kept her eyes closed and thought about the conversation with the man in her dream.  She realized that the only thing that matters is what she thinks of herself, not anyone else.  She thought some more about who she is and decided that she is beyond anything that can be put in a physical body.  She is so much more than that, and vowed to take time each day to discover herself.

She opened her eyes and gathered her backpack.  She looked to her side and saw that the man was sitting with her on the bench.  They looked at each other and smiled.

“Thank you,”  she whispered.

The man nodded and smiled back.

Ω

InspiraCard

When we understand that what we have inside is the answer to all our questions, we quit looking to others and to the external world for the answers!

Written, Tue, Apr 26, 2016 8:10 – 8:26 AM MDT