I don’t usually venture too far from the river way but on this particular day I found myself in unfamiliar territory, confronted by huge undergrowth and unsure of my route back to the river. I stopped.
From up above and behind me I heard voice call out, “Are you unsure of the best way to go.” I looked around and saw a willow warbler sitting in a tree. I replied, “Yes, it is going to be impossible to get to the river through this undergrowth. Hello, my name is Soul could you help. Yes, I definitely can. My name is Truly. Tell me how come you’re so far away from the river.
I felt instant trust for this lovely bird, with such a kind face and felt that it was really important, for some unknown reason, to tell her about my plight. She replied, “I’m not just going to give you directions, I’m going to help you to see things in a different way. I was certainly intrigued.
Truly began, “You expect that it will be impossible to go through the undergrowth back to the river. Do you believe that to be true? “Yes, I do.” I acknowledged. “Now I can tell you, from my perspective higher up, that is not the case. It is not the truth. It looks like the undergrowth is very dense and deep but it isn’t. It’s just an optical illusion. If you go into the undergrowth, you will very quickly pass through it.
We so often believe things to be true that are not true at all.
Expectations are like this. They are illusions. They are not the truth. My first question to you is, can you be absolutely sure that what you believe about your relationship with Blissy is the truth or just what you believe? “That’s interesting. I haven’t looked at it like that. I’m not sure that I can absolutely state that is the truth.” I asserted.
Let’s look at what you believe. Is it true that it is the best thing for your happiness to be with Blissy now or maybe the things you are learning now will mean that you’ll be a lot happier with her in the future.
Is it true you really need Blissey to be happy. You may find some happiness on your own and then when you’re with her again you’ll become even happier.”
“I could see that this way of looking at things could change my expectations. Then truly said something which really changed how I think.”
“Here is the most important thing I can tell you. If what you believe to be true is painful and making you unhappy it is not the truth.”
“I whispered these words to myself and thought if this statement is really true then I know I can change. Truly could see see that a light had gone on within me.”
“I can see Soul that you understand you’re on the path to changing. Talking of paths. All you need to do is go through the undergrowth for a short distance and you will find a path which takes you back to the river.” I thanked Truly for her profound wisdom. This has been a truly enlightning experience.
I passed through the undergrowth and walked back to the river with a real bounce in my step and hope in my heart.
Milo looked at Soul, eyes wide open and mouth agape. He knew you if he could understand this, he could change his expectations. “I can see you feel the same as I did Milo, when Truly told me. There’s not much more to be said today. So I’ll meet you back here tomorrow when you feel ready to continue.”
That night Milo felt, both enlightened and also confused, as the nature of truth was not an easy concept to grasp by any means. He realised that if his expectations were really illusions, then if I could see the truth he would be free of his pain and suffering. This was an awe-inspiring thought.
This was a lot to make sense of, so he took his time in the morning and returned to Soul and the river in the middle of the morning.