Tired, Tussie and Jordy decided to press on, leaving the cemetery behind. Feeling enlightened by their encounter with Old Salt, neither knew what the journey would bring.
Jordy said, “This trail is covered with canopy but there is enough light shining through to see our way. Someone has cleared the way before us. The path is worn and seeing it well-traveled means there is a destination ahead. The thicket entangling the trees arch over the trail as a protection. Tussie, I think it’s safe to continue.”
Jordy, there is more here than meets the eye. The path is calling us. I sense a comfort with each step but also concern. Only by following will we know what will come. I have heard from the Timorians of an upthrust beyond the forest and savannah. There is a precipice at the edge of this upthrust overlooking a valley. There, the terrain is uncertain should a traveler veer from the way. Remember the seer’s words. Truth cannot be found where you are, only where you are not. To get where you are not, look inward, then upward and follow. All is hidden until it is not.
Still accompanied by the light, the two companions forged on. When the sun and moon opposed eight times, Tussie and Jordy found themselves on the precipice of which the Timorians spoke. Below, lush swells and drumlins framed a rushing stream. Our travelers craved sustenance. The valley beckoned.
Jordy, before you find our descent, do you see what I see?
Yes, there is movement below, perhaps a haze or a shadow. But there are no clouds in the sky and no wind and I cannot make out any living creatures. It appears the vegetation shifts.
Jordy, below are eddies of the varied inclinations of men making their way. From this distance, the doubt and pride, the hypocrisy and narrow-mindedness, the self-righteousness mass together in uniformity flowing over the landscape detaching their intentions as normal, preferential and colorless. Remember, all is hidden until it is not. In the valley, men believe they can be better than you, or worse, as good as you. This is a dangerous precipice upon which we stand. The Light warns us against these things.
Tussie, this gives me pause. I am not sure what to think.
Doubt, if uncertainty, is not a dreadful thing. If soured, doubt questions truth and stunts belief. Uncertainty leads us to deeper thoughts, stills us for further revelation. Uncertainty is not knowing, the other, unwilling. In the valley, it’s easy to think the self is everything, to choose our own nature and the entanglements accompanying that confinement. To have your own way is the easy path.
Tussie, how do you know this?
This precipice allows us to see from a distance, allows a knowing above knowledge. Humility is our fear, the consequence of being less. Uncertainty is the great rock of faith, and still, we long for certainty and cast aside its unkindness.
Tussie, I’m glad the Light is with us.