The idea of all our parts contributing to who we are really interested and intrigued me. Isa had often talked about loving and accepting our different parts. My mind felt drawn toward the gentle wisdom that she had imparted to me.
Coincidentally late morning I saw a deer standing by the river. Memories of Isa flooded back to me. Instantly, I felt a sense of excitement. Even though I realised it was not Isa, it still brought to mind the faint hope that it would be the beautiful doe I had spent time with.
Then thinking of the pond I wondered what I would see if I were to look into those still waters once again. What would the pond hold for me now?
I approached the deer by the river and politely enquired if she had met Isa. “Oh! Yes, I know her. She is so lovely. I have visited her many times at her pond. Actually if you’re looking for a pond, there is one not far away,” the deer replied, batting her long lashes before glancing over her shoulder. “That way, further along the path.” Grateful for the directions to the pond I looked up at the deer once more and asked her name. “My name is Gaway.”
“Thank you, Gaway!” What a beautiful, unusual name I mused. Delighted to hear this I scurried on along the path to the pond, which proved to be only a short distance away, but because of my excitement it seemed to take a long time to reach it.
As I approached, I noticed a colourful row of flowers flanking the left side of the bath and the smell of their delicate scents filled my senses.
When I arrived at the pond I was surprised and disappointed to find it murky and disturbed.
I sat at the edge, unimpressed by the tainted waters. I leaned forward to see if it was possible to look at my reflection, when a creature appeared on the surface. It was a frog.
“It is murky now” the frog stated. “The bottom has just been disturbed, but in a few minutes it will be clear again.”
“I hope so,” Epic frowned before managing a smile. “My name is Epic. Who are you?”
The frog looked thoughtful for a moment, before he shifted closer. “My name is Spire. Would you care for a story, Epic?” “Certainly.”
“Well,” Spire began. “Many years ago there was a drought and the pond was on the verge of drying up, so a deer called Gaway decided that she would help to fill it up. She hung two pots from a small tree branch over her shoulders.
However, one of the pots had a slight crack in it, which leaked. During that dry summer, Gaway repeatedly made many trips from the river to the pond carrying water to prevent the pond from drying up. On each journey some of the water leaked from the cracked pot.
The uncracked pot was proud of its achievements, whereas the imperfect pot was ashamed of its imperfection. It was unhappy that it could not deliver all of the water to the pond.”
Spire paused and glanced down into the water…….. “What happened?” I prompted.
“One day by the pond,” Spire continued, “the pot declared, “I am ashamed of myself because of my crack, which leaked so much water on the way to the pond. But Gaway smiled kindly and simply replied, “Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other side? That’s because I have been aware of your flaw all along, so I planted flowers on your side of the path, and on every trip you watered them. Those beautiful flowers are what draws everyone to this lovely pond.”
It was a beautiful story and it really touched me. I thanked Spire, who disappeared back to the bottom of the pond. Watching the ripples vanish, I noticed that the pond had cleared. Leaning closer over the edge, I could see my reflection once again.
This beautiful story stirred up deep feelings within. I realised that these feelings were linked to my search for the source of something, which was the essence of who I was.