Lesson from the Spirit

The Spirit sat on the shore and studied the gray pebble in his hand.

“Tell me, what is happening?”
“Everything has its unique pattern.
The beauty of this stone is in its unique pattern.
You will not find two identical flowers, nor two identical beasts.
And yet something unites them into a certain group.
You were made according to the Creator’s design. His vision stretches over vast territories, embraces planets.
And yet you were created not merely according to His plan, but in His likeness.
What did He mean by that?”
“I do not know. I have no answer.”
“Many call that act egoistic. However, it was an utterly prosaic act of good will, of careful regard and love. When He made you in His image and likeness, He did not emphasize outward appearance, did He? For you are all different. But He gave you something more than your body, your appearance — a soul. That luminary which took after the Divine radiance, fully imitating the function, the mission placed within it.
To be made in the Creator’s likeness does not mean to take pride in your body, but to ignite with your soul.
You read much, you study, yet simple things seem closed to one who hides from himself. Open your soul without fear and without doubt of being caught in your sincerity that attests to your honesty, openness, and truthfulness. But beware the treachery that slips into your ears with flattery, becoming an important engine of your path.
When you open yourself and accept that miracle of true life hidden within you, you will be surprised how plain things become accessible to you, things that were once unavailable to the scholar concentrated on certain actions.
When you accept God, you do not control Him, you do not judge Him nor allow judgments to stand. So why, toward yourself, can you not be so honest?
By accepting even the mistakes of the past, you accept the path that the Creator has foreordained for you, and thus you agree with it, and thus you do not argue with yourself.
Where you do not accept your mistakes, there you have taken pride against yourself and the Creator. And so your path will be long and hard.
But if you accept your story with repentance, with a desire to know the truth, and with gratitude to the Creator, then the world will open to your embrace. For to those who ask, an answer is given.