A Lesson from the Spirit

I climbed the hill. There was a white marble bench where the Spirit sat waiting for me. He rose and began to gather grapes nearby.
“What are you doing?”
“Gathering grapes.”

I began to help him, carefully cutting each bunch and placing it in the basket—gently, so the berries wouldn’t be crushed.

“Why are we in this vineyard?”
“Here you can know God within yourself.”
“How?”
“Do you see this bunch? It looks ripe. When we see that most of the berries are mature, we pick the bunch.”
“Right.”
“Look at your hands—they are gentle, kind, open. How you approach the harvest, with what intention, matters a great deal. If you approach it with love, care, tenderness, and attention, your basket will be full of beautiful, ripe grapes neatly arranged. If you approach without desire, with disapproval, anger, unwillingness, and aggression, your basket will be full of crushed and unripe berries. There will be chaos.
Show attention, tenderness, and care; show love when you gather the fruits of your spirituality, when you fill yourself with that spirituality—like this basket—gently, carefully, selecting the best ripe berries. Do not hurry or rush, for you are not here for time, but for knowing. For you are not here for the result, but for the content of that result. So let it be.

Do not look to or compare yourself with others, do not model yourself on them, for each walks their own path. Are you here to observe others? You are here to know yourself. Do not look at other baskets—look at yours.