Fastidious

The young girl tired as she fastidiously move from one water lily to the other.  The water lilies were spread out  before her on the water. She was surprised at their strength.  They bore her weight without her sinking into the water.

"What are you thinking about," the Prophet asked her.

"Oops, you frightened me. When did you return? How long have you been here?" The Child asked.

"I never left," answered the Prophet.  "You needed time the time to play among the water lilies. Aren't they beautiful?"

"Oh yes, they're gorgeous," the Child answered as she hopped to a large green one  that looked like an umbrella turned upside down. "I've never seen water lilies that look so unique and fragile, yet when I stand on them they're steady and  hold me up."

"The water lilies have learned to be resilient, Child. They've been thrown about by some  fierce storms, whirled  around by the wind in tough  tornadoes, and tossed to and fro by ships of every size.  They learned to hold on, to keep going. They are fastidious looking things. "

"Wow, Prophet, I didn't know water lilies were fastidious. They just look like plain old water lilies to me."

The Prophet chuckled at the child's naiveness, knowing that it would take some while before she discovered the strength that lay within her.

"Child, tell me what do you see?"

The child gazed at the ocean. It was calm, the wind still, the sky blue.  She saw nothing but endless waves of water.  Since she had dared to leave the land of lethargy and complaints, and fulfill her purpose in life, she had been walking on the ocean.

Even though the Prophet told her that her journey had been fastidiously planned;  that not one minute detail had been overlooked, she often felt overwhelmed by the adventure and the mirage of emotions that she experienced.

Then, suddenly out on the wide blue ocean something round appeared from a distance. It was the largest water lily that she had ever seen.

"What do you see, Child? Tell me what do you see?"

"It's a water lily and it's beautiful!" Exclaimed the Child. "I've never seen anything like it."

"We'll ride it for a while," said the Prophet.

"But it's so far away." said the Child.

The Prophet chuckled at her sense of distance.  He knew that what seemed near was far, and what seemed far is often nearer than people thought.

"It's nearer than you think, Child," he said, and the wind aroused itself from out of its sleep and began to blow the water lily in their direction.

Ciao,
Pat Garcia