Wisdom of The Master

During the 20th Century, a wise and penniless man roamed the earth offering love, peace and hope to all that he met. With time he built a large following of people who called him "The Master," a title he never accepted.

In 1970, shortly before his death this man with his piercing light blue eyes and shoulder length gray hair, spoke to a group of his followers and those who were there never forgot his words. One of those followers wrote down what you are about to read:

On Love: "From the instant of your creation love has been at your core. It is as powerful as the tides are to the ocean and it drives you with equal force. To deny love is to deny your own existence and to distort your very being. To embrace love is to uplift your life and all the lives around you as you surrender to love's desire for fulfillment."

On War: "Based upon their greed, power and a desire to control others, leaders sell it to those who will pay its horrific price. By appealing to patriotism, fear and desire for security, and to the higher callings of peace and freedom and of religious beliefs, leaders never hesitate to destroy or distort the true meanings of those higher callings. We must reject those leaders who without us could never fight those wars nor cause us to stain our hands with the blood of our brethren."

On Religion: "Many people don't believe in themselves nor in others. They redefine compassion and integrity to meet their immediate desires and they ignore those who suffer from poverty or war. As measured by their practices, who and what do they believe in?"

On Charity: "At the end of life all material possessions are surrendered. Yet it is the rare person who donates many of his or her possessions before death takes them. If fear of poverty is the reason they don't help others in need, they too are already poor indeed.

On Accomplishment: "No accomplishments are ever achieved alone. From the time it took at least two people to create a pregnancy and a village of people to support that child born of that pregnancy, that child and every other child have all been interdependent on one another, an interdependence that lasts a lifetime."

On Stress: "Stress is often self-induced and when it is self-induced reflects a lack of faith in a Higher Being and in a Greater Purpose. It also reflects a lack of self-confidence and a lack of self-control. If left unchecked, it will eventually destroy one's health and one's emotional well-being."

On Hope: "Hope abounds for those who welcome it by their thoughts, words and actions. Most people believe in some form of a heavenly afterlife but do little to bring a piece of that heaven here. Yet we have some of that heaven in the here and now in the beauty of love, of fellowship, of flowers, of rainbows and in so many other magnificent forms just waiting to be noticed and embraced by those wise enough to do so."

In Summary: "All that I can teach you already lives within you. My intent is to help you discover it within yourself and to put it into practice."

Dick
Thank you to Peace Pilgrim who walked the world wise and penniless advocating peace until her death in 1981 and to "The Prophet" by Kahlil Gibran for helping to inspire this piece.