Chapter Three
The Teacher looked at me with the same calm expression he had carried throughout our journey.
“Marine,” he asked softly, “are you relaxed?”
I looked around me once more. The gentle breeze moved through the grass without making a sound. The magnificent tree stood watch over the meadow as though it had been there since the beginning of creation. The little creature remained quietly beside the rock, occasionally letting out that beautiful tone I could not hear with my ears but somehow felt throughout my entire body. Every note carried peace. Every breath I took seemed lighter than the one before it.
“Yes, Teacher,” I answered. “I have never known peace like this.”
He nodded.
“Good. Your heart is ready for the next lesson.”
“Before I teach you, close your eyes. Tell me where you have known the greatest peace.”
I closed my eyes and smiled.
“There was a hot July afternoon on a hiking trail in North Carolina. A river, perhaps eighty feet wide and three or four feet deep, flowed gently through the valley. Large boulders were scattered throughout the river, and as the water cascaded over them it produced one of the most peaceful sounds I have ever heard. About twenty yards upstream stood a waterfall, perhaps twenty feet high. I watched the water splash from rock to rock before joining the current below. Beside the river was a magnificent tree whose shade covered the bank. I spread out a blanket beneath it and simply lay there, turning my head from side to side, listening to the river and watching the waterfall. I remember thinking that if peace had a home on earth, it might be there.”
The Teacher smiled.
“Marine, before I teach you the next lesson, let us go there. Touch my garment once again.”
Once more I reached for the hem of his garment. Again I was overwhelmed by its texture. I cannot explain why simply touching it filled me with such security, but it did. It was as though every fear I had ever carried simply dissolved beneath my fingertips.
In an instant we were moving again.
Not walking.
Not flying.
Simply… moving.
Far ahead I noticed what appeared to be a tiny glowing sphere, no larger than a child’s snow globe. Warmth radiated from it long before we arrived. We circled it several times before passing effortlessly through its surface.
Somehow our immense size fit perfectly within that tiny world.
The moment we entered, my breath caught.
Before me stretched a meadow unlike anything I had ever imagined. Grass, six or eight inches tall, moved gently with a breeze I could barely feel. A blanket rested beneath a tree whose beauty exceeded anything my imagination could have created. Its branches stretched outward with perfect balance, offering shade without darkness and warmth without heat.
The sky above us was a shade of blue I have no words to describe. It was neither the pale blue of a summer afternoon nor the deep blue of evening. It simply seemed… complete. A single cloud drifted lazily across the heavens so slowly it appeared untouched by time itself.
Movement caught my attention.
From a cluster of flowering shrubs emerged a tiny creature unlike anything I had ever seen. It walked gracefully upon six delicate legs. Its gentle eyes reflected curiosity without fear. Its coat shimmered softly in the light as though woven from silk.
The little creature looked toward the Teacher, then toward me.
A beautiful tone escaped from it.
It was not birdsong.
It was not an instrument.
It was something entirely different.
I did not hear it as much as I felt it. The melody passed gently through my body, calming every anxious thought I possessed. It was almost as though peace itself had found a voice.
The little creature curled up beside a smooth stone and quietly closed its eyes.
The Teacher looked at me once more.
“Marine,” he asked softly, “will this be a comforting enough place for the next lesson?”
I slowly looked around once again. I could not imagine a place more beautiful or more peaceful.
“Yes, Teacher,” I whispered. “If this is only a place of learning, I cannot begin to imagine the beauty of what still lies ahead.”
A gentle smile crossed his face.
“Then sit beside me, Marine. Here your heart may rest. Here your mind may listen. The next lessons are not meant merely to be understood… they are meant to become part of the vessel you now carry.”
Together we sat beneath the great tree while the little creature’s gentle melody drifted through the meadow, and for the first time since my journey had begun, I felt completely at peace.