Weaving Beauty and Magic into the Web of Impossibility

*the following is a short story that I streamed this morning in one of my ‘morning pages’ sessions. I’ll be posting more of these short pieces…

He walked and walked. And then walked some more. The night sky was clear and the stars splashed across a universe so vast. In the open landscape there was nothing hindering their panoramic view and he would stop often to be humbled by what he saw, almost confused by the magnitude of what he saw. The impossibility of it was astounding. How? This thought alone a man could spend 20 lifetimes exploring.

He walked for another hour and on the slightly lightening horizon he saw the dark silhouettes of rock formations. Soon the first signs of light showed as the suns coming rays bled color into the darkness of early morning. The stars retreated into the lightening sky and disappeared as black gave way to blue.

By the time the sun cracked over the horizon he had nearly made it to the shelter of the cliff dwellings. The daytime sun would bake him alive and this is why he had to walk all night. Now he was exhausted and needed to rest. He paused at the base of the cliffs and looked up at the dwellings and scanned for life. There were dim lights burning in many of the tiny windows. The main path branched into several different channels that led into the cliff homes. There were steep staircases cut into the solid rock and in places there were wooden ladders that could reach the more precariously built homes.

He waited. He knew that they knew he was coming. Eventually boy of about 15 came from one of the rock channels and walked towards him. He was wearing the typical light clothing that the desert people wore. The boy greeted the traveler, asking what he had come for.
“I’m looking for Giselle. I seek her training” the man replied.
“She has gone to collect medicine, she won’t be back for some time” the boy replied.
”Can I wait for her, I need to rest?” The man asked.
The boy turned with a gesture and they walked together. The man was led into the maze of cliff dwellings that were bafflingly carved out of solid rock. It must have taken them a lifetime to make these homes. Where did they live in the mean time, he wondered? How was this even possible?

He caught himself thinking this and remembered his wonder at the stars the night before. That question, ‘how is it possible’ felt significant to him. The awe of it all. Life is filled with impossibilities indeed. God has created a web of impossibility and life on earth has found a way to weave beauty and magic into that web. We make the impossible possible. The animals are impressive in their ways for sure but the things that the humans have made with their mighty brains and opposable thumbs is truly extraordinary. We seek not just to crate but to do so with beauty always in mind. Do the animals understand beauty?

Man’s curiosity and wonder for Gods World sparks the inspiration for him to create a world within a world, one that is more suitable to man’s ways of living than the rawness of nature alone. Anything is possible. That’s the foundation for the living world. To ask “how is it possible” is pointless, for there is no answer. The mystics will explore this thought experiment for fun but they know better than to try and find a definitive answer. It’s possible because we dream it. Somehow that’s enough. Imagination is key. We think therefor we are.

After walking down a narrow channel and ascending a steep staircase they zigged and zagged a few times, climbing upwards until they soon came to a small wooden door in the cliff face. “You can wait here” the boy said. “I will bring you water. Giselle will return tomorrow morning”.

The boy left and he entered the dwelling. It was a very small room with a bed in the corner and not much else. He collapsed on the bed and soon fell into a dream. He did not even hear the boy return a short time later with the clay water picture.

In his dream a fiery streak cut across the night sky. The flames opened like a woman, revealing the essence of life, like the blooming of a flower, wet with dew, stars sparkling in the morning light. A symbol of new life, of possibilities. From this portal of flames in the night sky, an entity was born into the material world. It was The Teacher, the one who brings knowledge and creativity to humankind. The people of India called her Saraswati, but she has many names.

The goddess grew in the sky from a baby to a beautiful woman dressed in white and adorned with otherworldly decorations. She rode on a magnificent white bird that hovered in the sky and slowly descend to earth. She looked at the man and her eyes were two universes that burned white hot, penetrating his soul to the core. In that look was transmitted a message without words. It came as a feeling, or rather a knowing. Stay the course, never give up, never stop pursuing personal truth. Keep forgetting, keep remembering. God is on your side. Don’t be afraid.

The goddess drew from her robe a simple pen and she extended her hand and the pen came to the man. It was a tool he would need, this he understood. He reached out and took it, holding it in his fingers, he gave it a little twirl and made the motion of writing and to his surprise, words of light were drawn on the air in front of him. They lingered for a moment, slightly drifting and then began to fade. He wrote his name and watched it fade away into nothing.

He awoke to the sounds of people working outside. It was afternoon now and he had been asleep for several hours. He reached for his bag and took out his little leather journal and pen and began to write about his dream. He felt guided and protected in his journey.

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I hope you enjoyed this short story. Please leave your comments below. The image below is one of my paintings, titled “the Journey”. It depicts a lion who is following his personal path into the unknown. His curiosity alone guides him, his courage to know more will ultimately lead him to his destiny. This image is available in many forms (wood prints, paper prints ect) in my STORE.