The Path to Liberation

They say the path to liberation

Leads through valleys of utter despair

And over peaks of glorious wonder.

If you risk the journey, beware.

 

Our thoughts don't always reflect reality;

And to us an idea that clearly seems

So real and permanent is really ephemeral

And creatively sculpted from notions and dreams.

  

Such thoughts can tantalize or torment us,

Depending on our state of mind

Or how attached we are to ideas

And concepts that we've proudly enshrined.

 

That which lasts--that which endures--

Remains utterly beyond our ken.

If we are lucky, flashes of awareness

Illuminate us now and then.

 

Are our questions superficial,

Or do they sink beneath our skin

To penetrate our bones and marrow

And deeply resonate therein?

 

Gratitude flows from every pore

As we glide along on a goalless goal.

An inner calm pervades our being

When we let go of the illusion of control.

 

We catch a glimpse of truly knowing.

Clouds of doubt that blocked the light

Shift, and we are bathed in the radiance

Of something inconceivably bright.

 

Part of us dies, but something's reborn.

We see through Illusions, passions, and lies.

Divested of our strong attachments,

We see the world through different eyes.

 

The path we've sought is under our feet;

There's nothing mysterious--nothing arcane.

We lose our selves and find ourselves,

And we find that there's nothing we need to attain.

(1-12-15)