The Great Illusion

A man was running down a road through a forest. Running because he was in fear, fear of the things behind him, fear of what followed and haunted him. He kept running, he couldn't stop, he didn't know what would happen if he did. All of a sudden in the near distance he saw a dark wood. The trees did not look welcoming. As he approached he started to notice shadows drifting through the woods. He realized he didn't know what he would do when he got there, surely there is no way he is going in.

When he got closer he saw a group of people standing at the head of the trail that entered the forest. He stooped to talk to them. He told them he didn't know what to do, if he stayed there the things behind him will catch up, but if he went in to this forest he had no idea what would happen.

The elder of the group looked at him and said; "We are going through, we have been through woods like this before and we know we will be safe. You can join us if you please, but we are not going to make you. It's your choice. I will say though, if you do join us, those things behind you will disappear."

As the man thought about what had been said to him he decided to go through the forest. All he had at that point was faith that the man believed that it was all going to be ok in the end. He wanted the things he was running from to leave, so decided he would run the risk. It was worth it.

They embarked on their journey. The entire journey through the dark wood the man was full of fear, but he decided not to turn around, he saw the comfort in the eyes of the other travelers, the confidence they had as they walked, and with that had faith that it was going to be alright.

Finally, to the man's relief, they emerged from the dark forest... And what he then saw, can not be sufficiently defined in words. But, I'll try. He looked over a broad valley, the beautiful warming sun left streaks of pink and purple streaking through the sky. He felt a warm peaceful feeling come about him, the fear of the things behind him seemed to slip away. He could look the world in the Eyes.

The old man looked at him and said, "I'm glad to see that you are happy with the result of the journey through that mess of a wood... This group and I, we are going to continue to trudge this road."
"But it's so beautiful here, why not just stay."
"We have learned to enjoy the journey of it, and know that if we stay there is a chance that the darkness of the forest may one day be back on us. So we continue on.... You are more than welcome to stay here and enjoy the beauty, but you can also continue with us on our journey. I will say, from my experience, it only gets better."
The man thought about it, and decided to continue with the group, having traveled so far with them, he felt as if he had become a part of this strange fellowship.

They continued.....
Eventually they came upon another dark wood. The man was confused and a bit frightened, but not near as much before.

You see, this is all part of the journey... There are always going to be random dark spots, but after a while they don't seem near as dark, and fearsome.

So this time the man was willing to trek through this next forest with the group. At the entrance of the forest the group stopped and had a meal and some refreshments. The man looked back to this beautiful land he had just trekked through and out of the corner of his eye he saw some quick moment. He focused in on it and noticed it was a man running... the man felt something inside.... he realized that this man who was running was trying to escape the past, to out run his fears, just as he had done.

The running man came up to the group, as the man before him, not sure what to do. The man who had already been through a dark forest went up to him and told him the same thing the older man had said to him. He could see the fear in his eyes, but in the end the fearful man agreed to join the group in faith that he would be ok.

And so it goes, once our man left his fear behind... he was able to help others to leave behind theirs too. Another thing he found was that he loved the journey... The old man was right... but he realized something the old man had failed to tell him... for every dark forest he passed through, everything was more beautiful on the other side than before. After passing through many dark forests, he came to a point where there were no longer dark forests, he realized that they were just an illusion, as was the fear that chased him for so long. Life became beautiful at all times, and it only grew more beautiful with every step he took.

The man who was once paralyzed by fear, who today walks a free man in the beauty of all things... Well that man is me.