Chris Burnett “What difference does a name mean to truth? You could call me Truth. You could call me Walls, because I existed behind the walls of the truths I believed in. Everyone builds their walls from their known truths. So call me Truth today, but know that truth is forever changing, its mixed shades of light and dark ever reorganizing into the changing face of nature. What is truth today may have no truth tomorrow because the truth of the situation changed. We build our walls and state our truths, but only maintain these truths through nurturing, and sometimes the walls come crashing down because the nurturing process has completed itself. And then we rebuild, nurturing our truths once again because it is what is given to do.”
“We teach non-violence, while others teach peace that comes from protective measures that could be labeled violence,” says the Asian philosopher who has appeared for today’s interview in meditation. “Which is correct? Neither, for both serves their purpose. Never do we sit and wish the world to be other than what it is, for that is wasted energy. Instead we nurture the light we find inside of everything and practice acceptance of the world as it arrives.
“We know the world to be ever changing and accept it for its changing qualities because life itself thrives on change, change that builds character and usefulness.
“We, in our monasteries, offer balance, but we are no more “right” than those who find their balance in war.
“Everything possesses light, everything. But understand that there cannot be shades of light without its accompanying shades of dark. One finds that life’s meaning truly exists in the in-between of both light and dark, in the shades if you will.”
He pauses and we enjoy silence for a few minutes before I am prompted to ask, “Why are you here today specifically?”
“To speak of the rightness of all paths, for they are carved amidst each other. Carry empathy for those you don’t understand, while embracing and encouraging change in your own life rather than hosting stagnancy. It is difficult to breathe while standing in the stagnant waters of life, for they offer nothing that encourages. Humans inherently love life, but learn fear from a very young age, fear that encourages stagnancy.
“Every single moment of a human’s existence has its own distinct life and will not be dismissed simply. Humans have not the power to dismiss what is their given path. They may ignore and attempt to replace, but they cannot kill or dismiss any one given aspect of the human self as life. Spirit lives forever and what in the human life does not possess spirit?”
“Well, I guess everything possesses spirit?”
He smiles slowly and beautifully. Even his act of smiling is peaceful and tells me that my answer is correct; therefore why waste energy in affirming.
“I think that if I were to enter a monastery, maybe I would never want to leave its peace?”
“But what if you possessed the teacher inside and it prompted you to spread the word? Would you leave the walls to bring a different way of life to others?”
“Yes, I suppose I would because I probably couldn’t resist. Most of us love the new, no matter what it contains because it feeds and encourages, and though we fear change, I believe most of us are always searching for something different out of fear of boredom and as you say, “stagnancy.”
“Why have you not given your name?”
“What difference does a name mean to truth? You could call me Truth. You could call me Walls, because I existed behind the walls of the truths I believed in. Everyone builds their walls from their known truths. So call me Truth today, but know that truth is ever changing, its mixed shades of light and dark ever reorganizing into the changing face of nature. What is truth today may have no truth tomorrow because the truth of the situation changed. We build our walls and state our truths, but only maintain these truths through nurturing, and sometimes the walls come crashing down because the nurturing process has completed itself. And then we rebuild, nurturing our truths once again because it is what is given to do.”
“Patience. You could also call me Patience, because that is what it takes to nurture. Patience is also what is required to face the ever-changing nature of life and understand there is no forever. Excise the word “forever,” substituting the word “change” and life will be more easily understood if understanding is what one is after.”
“I think I would like to call you Acceptance, because that is what you are preaching today? Acceptance of change? Acceptance that everything is always changing, including the supposed truth?”
He smiles and says, “Five minutes from now, you will have thought of a new name for me because you will have moved beyond acceptance of change, and the new name would fit as well as any we can think of in this moment. Everything is always changing, including stagnancy. Look carefully at all stagnancy, for it possesses its own life. Everything has shades of life within the shades of lightness and darkness. Call me Shades.”
We both laugh out loud over the name Shades. “I understand at least some of what you have said today. I guess I could read it every single day and get something different out of it. Those are the shades of truth that are constantly moving, allowing varying glimpses into what might be construed the truth in each moment. So, don’t hold onto truth no matter what it offers? Because the walls of all supposed truths crumble at one point or another? We are back to acceptance, aren’t we?”
He smiles and disappears.