Lower Realm

There I was, surrounded by a forest of sky reaching greenery. The dirt beneath me was covered with information. The sun hadn't fully penetrated the lush vegetation as it bled down every twist and turn. I wasn’t how I remembered myself, human,at least not biologically. I presumed I was an ant at first because I was marching in line with ants following the symbols. I tried to walk out of formation towards a shaded area but soon realized I couldn’t. I was on autopilot. Between my thoughts I had a overwhelming urge to follow the path that had been laid before me. As we approach our destination it was clear where I was heading, dinner! I remembered this insect to be a grasshopper, well what was left of one. There were hundreds of fellow soldiers at the site all working together. My thoughts were no longer about my needs but that of the colony. I was accepting my reality for what it was. As a human I was motivated by actions that would benefit myself or the people I love. I hadn't really given much thought about everybody else.Come to think about it my thoughts were mostly of desire and how I could easily obtain it. Wealth and pleasure would fuel my self worth. I climbed against gravity to the top of the corpse, the smell of decay was very familiar to me then all of a sudden I felt different. Gravity is an invisible force found throughout the universe that forces objects towards each other, on earth its the core of the planet. My perspective was no longer the ants because I watched it being rip to pieces by the cannibalistic insects.The torso was lifted and carried down the line of ants as drift wood does riding a wave. As the images began to fade, I wondered why I was killed?

One Minute Storytelling: The Self

I came across a woman crying under a tree one afternoon, shade from the tree was the only refuge from the high sun. Not wanting at first to interrupt I looked for somewhere else to rest but decided this tree was big enough for the both of us. She hadn’t notice me I thought as I sat down on the other side of the huge oak tree. “Are you not going to ask me why I’m crying?” she said. “Sorry, why are you crying?” I asked. “This world is a cruel place and nothing ever works out for me!” “Maybe this is true for everybody…” she whispered. I started to get up so that I could walk to the other side of the tree but I was ordered to stay where I was. “Let’s stay the way we are.” I told her she was right. “It’s like that for everybody but it doesn’t have to be. You see our dissatisfaction arises from the fact that we don’t see the world as it is but how we want. Death, pain, hunger, sickness happens because we are systems just like any other living organism.” She quickly responded “Ok that kind of makes sense but how can that help me enjoy my life?” I knew the answer but how could I explain it to another. So I said, “Telling someone how to enjoy life is like asking someone who hasn’t been here to draw this tree we are sitting under, no matter how much detail I gave them it wouldn’t be the same tree. Pointing this person in the direction of the tree is all I can do but there is no guarantee they will find it. The direction I will give you is this, “You have no soul. You are empty of a pure individual existence like everything else in this great universe. Use it to find your happiness. “A couple of moments had passed without a response so I asked if she understood, still no answer. I started to pick myself up using the trunk of the tree, when she finally said” Have you found it?” I said, “I’m lost but that tends to happen from time to time on a journey.” I walked over to the other side of the tree to find no one in sight. I couldn’t remember how I ended up here but it didn’t matter because that was in the past, a story.