What Stands Between Man And Eternal Bliss

 

I will not keep you in suspense. For that is not my way.

What is that One Thing?

The lack of realization that YOU ARE GOING TO DIE.

Not some theoretical understanding. Not some far off possibility. Not some eventuality.

The HEARTFELT realization that stabs a man square in the heart . . .

The grip of fear that ensnares his entire waking moment . . .

The image that fills the entire screen of his mind . . .

When he FINALLY, FINALLY realizes that he is going to DIE!

Until we learn this, life is an endless stream of events. Until we learn this, we will live within the illusion of an Abundance Of Time.

And that which is in abundance is never valued.

Nature should be more kind to man. It should have man experience a near-death experience at least once a month. Just to remind him that His Time Is Running Out.

To remind him that this paper existence that he lives is about to Whither.

To remind him NOT to get too comfortable.

To remind him not to take his life seriously, for it is only on Lease.

To remind him that every “grand achievement” and every bit of respectability and every drop of his so-called reputation is Going To Fall As Common Dust.

It is said that Alexander The Great once met an Indian sage who asked him,

“Alexander, what if you were walking in the desert, dying of thirst, and I had a bottle of water? What would you be prepared to give me for that bottle of water?”

To which Alexander replied, “I would be willing to give half my kingdom for that bottle of water.”

The Indian sage said, “What if that deal was not acceptable to me?”

Alexander said, “Then I would be willing to give you my entire kingdom.”

To which the Indian sage replied, “You are a very silly man. Devoting your entire life and effort in waging wars and conquering lands. All for a bottle of water?”

We are all even more silly than Alexander. For at least Alexander had a life-and-death excuse for craving the bottle of water.

We have refrigerators full of water, yet we waste our lives seeking an extra drop. JUST BECAUSE . . .

Why do we do this?

Because our situation is not as clear to us as it was for Alexander. Alexander knew precisely what he craved. He knew EXACTLY what he was thirsty for.

The sage’s question had defined the problem so perfectly for him, that the solution became clear.

Our problem is that although we thirst, we don’t know what exactly we are thirsting for!

As a result, we wander through life grasping at shiny and colorful things hoping to quench our thirst. But the things we find never do the job.

The paths that we walk are circular rather than linear. And as a result, we go nowhere.

The elixirs we drink are filled with salt. And thus we remain thirsty.

The dreams we have do often materialize, but then they only lead to more dreams.

We cry in the quiet of our room. Wondering how to escape from our plight. And the more we attempt to escape from it, the more ensnared we become by it.

The lonely and thirsty wanderer in the desert is in a far more enviable situation, is he not?

His life is simple. He has only one need. And once he gets it, he is content.

But may that man never leave the desert. Though he may not realize it, the bare open expanse of desert is his only salvation.

Why?

Because if he leaves the wilds of the desert for the paved roads of civilized life, his life will become immediately more complex. Where he once had only one need, he will now have many.

Where he once thirsted only for water, he will now thirst for everything under creation. And in doing so, he will become a far more pitiful creature than he ever was in the desert.

Life made a mistake with human beings. It overestimated our ability to see The Truth.

The truth is that we are only here for a short while. Yet the calendar on the walls displays days from here until eternity.

The watch winds up instead of down. This is complete deception, is it not?

The only worthwhile watch in the world is NOT the one which counts UP, but the one which counts DOWN.

NOT the watch which tells you what time IT IS. But the watch which tells you how much time you HAVE LEFT.

To know the very day that you are going to die. And to have a watch which tells you how much time remains in your life. THAT is a life-changing watch.

Unless we have a watch like this . . .

Unless we have a multitude of near-death experiences . . .

Unless we VISCERALLY come face to face with our own demise . . .

We will never know death.

And if we never have the luxury of knowing death, we will forever suffer the misery of not having lived.