We Stand at a Crossroads

I STAND AT A CROSSROADS with my face towards the sun, listening to the morning sound. Behind me — the fading moon; before me — the light, the sun, the source. It provides the energy, everything we need.

I stand at a crossroads of the sun and moon, here and there, the sound, the chill, enveloped by the air.

I’m in Flagstaff, Arizona, looking out into a sprawling field. Surrounding the field are rolling hills covered in pines reaching towards the sky. The sky seems to open like a book, into a new story.

The air is still cold in the early morning. It makes me feel more alive with every inhalation.

Attuned to the life all around me, at peace with the life within. What exists between these pines, webs of meaning, networks of life, an interplay of light and dark.

Ancient stones and trees to be, growth contained within miniature pines.

The air is sweet from the trees, nourishing and rich.

It’s exactly what we need.

The moon still sits overhead in the clear blue sky; a pale stone to remind us of where we are down here — us, me, here — listening to the morning song of a bird on this fascinating green and blue and red planet. Surrounded by sound, the sound of life, rebirth, morning.

I look up and stare across the threshold of the known. We live on planet Earth, but the moon reminds us of what’s out there, the unknown, beautiful and cloaked in mystery.

Within each of us, we contain the same unknowable depths of outer space. My body is cold yet so alive with the rays of the sun shining down on me.

The sun and the moon counterbalanced with us, the individual, living in between.

Living in between.

I’m starting the book The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know Is Possible, by Charles Eisenstein.

In the book, Eisenstein presents the idea that we are all connected, every individual to one another, every individual to the Earth, he calls it interbeing.

We hurt intrinsically when the world hurts, even when we don’t know why.

We hurt when others hurt; yet we heal when we strive to heal others.

We stand at a crossroads.

The world has given us a chance to make a change. Through compassion, love, and a striving to come together, not divide, every one of us can be the change that the world so badly needs.

We may heal when we reconnect with the life all around us, when we believe in the mystery that we’re not meant to care solely for ourselves, but for one another and for this Earth that is the source of all things.

The power of the world is healing; we contain that same energy, that same beautiful light.

We stand at a crossroads with a beautiful opportunity before us.

2 Comments
  • Sydney Duke Richey
    Posted at 12:36h, 05 June Reply

    What beautiful writing. As I read your piece, my mind automatically put it in poem format. Such an insightful and profound message you’ve given us in a poetic story.

    • Vincent Van Patten
      Posted at 13:16h, 05 June Reply

      Thank you, Sydney! It means so much to me 🙂 I remember when you once commented that I should write a book of poetry — well the time has come! I have my first book, Arrows of Youth, coming out next month! It’s part memoir, part travel story, part spiritual exploration with much of my poetry and photography included as well. I’m going to be sending out a free version with my Weekly Insights before it comes out, and I’d be honored if you’d read it! You can join my weekly insights here:

      https://vincentvanpatten.com/weekly-insights/

      I hope all is well with you, thank you so much for checking out my website!

      Vincent

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