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Shahriar Shahriari |
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Message of the Month
May, 2003
Eternal Ways
A few years ago, I read a book called "In tune with the Infinite" by Ralph Waldo Trine. In it there was a poem that began like this:
I stay my haste, I make delays
For what avails this eager pace
I stand amidst eternal ways
And what is mine shall know my face.For some reason over the last few days, these verses have been coming back to me. As I was reflecting upon them, the words "eternal ways" acquired a special attraction.
At first glance, one may consider this to refer to destiny – a pre-determined fate that is eternally written on a star.
Yet deeper meditation reveals a different dimension of this destiny.
Eternal ways are not necessarily immutable dictates of fate. The word "eternal" could also refer to a timeless quality – a quality that transcends time.
An eternal way is a way that is independent of time or circumstances. It is a way that one could be, whether one is 4 years old or 40; a way that can be available in any country or clime; a way to be, with any individual or group.
An eternal way is what Abraham Maslow called a "B-Value" or "Being-Value". It is a way of being which automatically inspires us into action – a kind of action that is not eternal. An action that is very much dependent on time and circumstances, and is relevant and appropriate to both.
Back to the poem, I realized what Ralph Waldo Trine was saying was that perhaps what is written upon the stars is our core values, our natural and divine ways of being. And should we choose to – yes we have the choice regarding our fate – should we choose to stand amidst "eternal ways", without haste and without forcing action, then what is ours – the actions that are naturally inspired by these eternal ways of being – shall come to us and through us.
Perhaps this is the way of bringing the divine to earth – by constantly standing amidst our eternal values, and unfolding our destiny, with unshakable faith in our fate.
© Shahriar Shahriari
Los Angeles, CA
May 2003
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