By Adam J. Pearson
Listen and hear these words that speak the truth
About the obstacles to being aware
Of Love’s presence within us–here is proof,
Of the inward reality we share.
Close your eyes for a moment–can you see
A cloud move in front of a golden Sun?
It seems from our viewpoint that this tiny
Grey form has snuffed it out and Light is done.
Yet the Sun is far vaster than the small
Grey cloud, and its great Light could never be
Extinguished by the cloud’s presence at all.
It only seems that way–this is the key.
Love shines inside us like the Sun in space,
It is always present in us within.
Yet sometimes we feel not its golden rays,
For behind obstacles, it is hidden.
What are the clouds that cover up the Love,
That burns within us in our deepest Being?
What are the obstacles that seem to shove
It far away, and prevent us from seeing?
When shame tells us that we are not enough,
When fear makes us feel desperate and alone,
When anger storms within us bold and rough,
When attack thoughts deep in our minds are sown,
When guilt drapes darkness over Love’s great Light,
When regret mires us deep in the past,
When numbness levels all within its sight–
Behind these walls, Love does not seem to last.
And yet, in truth, the Light within shines on,
No grievance held, nor heavy inner wall,
Can extinguish the Light of Love’s great dawn,
Which shines eternal in the Now–in all.
When my mind judges and attacks others,
In truth, I strike myself, for we are One.
Whatever I give out to my brothers,
I receive like a bullet from a gun.
And so, my task is to forgive and love,
If I want to receive the same in kind,
For Love comes not from heavens up above,
But here, from within all of us, it shines.
I’m happy to see forgiveness from you,
My dearest friend for your joy is my own,
When you suffer, I know not what to do,
But I’ll not leave you suffering alone.
One day I lift you up, the next, you me,
We work together with one end in sight,
Together we will, at long last, be free,
And dashing darkness, step into the Light.
This Light lies not outside us, nor beyond
The walls our bodies seem to form immense.
It shines within us, never to be gone,
Underneath our emotional defense.
As I forgive the barriers to Love,
And lovingly release them from their hold,
I find the Light that soars up like a dove,
The Love that shines in me–my final goal.
***
For a detailed introduction to the liberatory practice of forgiveness, see “Forgive and Be Free: The Liberating Power of Forgiveness.”
For an explanation of how forgiveness frees the present from the hold of the past see “Release the Past to Free the Present: Another Meaning of Forgiveness.”
For a detailed explanation of how the ego creates some of the obstacles to the awareness of the presence of inner love, see “The Terror of Inner Peace or How the Ego Keeps us Miserable.”
For a poetic reflection on the challenge of forgiving when we’re tempted to blame, see “The Light of the Mind.”
Words from the Wind 