David Matthew Olatunji Bey
Published December 27, 2024
In the year 1213, nestled deep within the mountains, there was a village where life thrived in simplicity and harmony. Eshan, born into this serene place, was given the rare opportunity to choose his next incarnation.
Eshan was to become a living book of enlightenment, a guide for the mountain village people—an embodiment of their next step toward awakening. These were people of high aspirations, teetering on the edge of great change, and Eshan was to be their catalyst.
As he approached a pivotal moment in this life, a profound sense of peace enveloped him. Eshan worked as a apprentice craftsperson in the village located in the mountains of Sri Lanka. Love flowed abundantly between the villagers, and among them was one who knew Eshan’s soul: the village shaman. The elder, eyes wise with ancient knowledge, welcomed him with a gentle smile to visit him. Eshan humbly accepted and made a trek to sit with this seasoned elder of the community.
"I have been waiting for you, Eshan,” the elder said softly. “The time has come. The hawk has brought us a message.”
The shaman led Eshan to a sacred place, where the air was still and thick with peace. “Sit here,” he instructed. “This is where you will remember.”
But Eshan did not remember so easily. The elder returned and asked if the memory had surfaced, but nothing came. The shaman simply smiled. “Sit some more. Everything you need to know is recorded here, in the earth, in the air. Be still long enough, and you will hear it.”
Time passed, and then suddenly, like a flood, the memory came rushing back. Eshan ran to the elder, breathless, crying out, “I remember! I remember!”
The elder nodded, pleased. “It didn’t take you too long,” he said. “But now the real work begins. You are to be prepared. You’ll be next, and there’s much you need to learn.”
Eshan was still young, but the weight of his purpose had started to settle on him. As the years passed, he found himself growing into his role, though his heart was not without distractions. He fell in love with a young woman from the village, and for a time, he tasted happiness in its simplest form. Yet, the elder’s voice broke through this fleeting joy: “This is not your path.”
Eshan questioned why. His heart ached with the confusion of youth. But the elder remained steadfast, his voice calm and sure. “You are not meant for an ordinary life, Eshan. Yours is a path of higher purpose. Let me tell you a story.”
The elder told him of a young boy, much like Eshan, who had been born into a life of great promise. His parents had laid out a path for him, filled with gifts and responsibilities. But the boy became distracted by other desires. His parents warned him that if he strayed, many would suffer, and his destiny would remain unfulfilled. Eshan listened but remained unsure.
In the silence of his mind, questions swirled. He did not know what to do with the feelings that stirred inside him. That night, he dreamed of both joy and sorrow, of light and shadow. When he awoke, he thought he could balance both worlds, choosing his heart’s desires while still walking his destined path. But soon, a part of him began to slip away. He felt it, like the whisper of a forgotten calling. His connection to the elder faded, and he grew distant, lost in a life that was not truly his.
Unhappiness settled in his heart, gnawing at him like a persistent shadow. He knew he had strayed from the work he was meant to do. With a heavy heart, Eshan withdrew to a cave, seeking clarity and the part of himself he had abandoned. In the quiet stillness, time passed. When he finally returned to the village, he was much older, weathered by his own journey. The elder was gone now, but Eshan had come to share his hard-earned wisdom.
“To those who listen,” Eshan spoke, “peace will only come when you choose from your heart. You are unhappy because you are not doing the work you were meant to do. My life is a living testament to this. I stood at the crossroads, unsure, but in the end, I chose my path. Now, I stand before you as proof. If something doesn’t feel right, it isn’t. Do not deceive yourselves, for that way leads only to suffering.”
He shared his stories openly, teaching the young, preparing them for their own paths. He warned them that future generations would face choices of their own, and that those who chose from their heads would suffer. “If you choose with your heart, your greatness will grow,” he told them.
As the years rolled by, Eshan returned to his cave, living in silence, waiting for the time when he would be called to speak again. One day, he felt it—a disturbance from afar, a force of chaos inching toward the village. Eshan emerged one final time to speak to the people. His voice was urgent, carrying the weight of his years and knowledge.
“Chaos is coming,” he warned them. “A foreign force will test you, and your only choice is to love. Hold onto that love as darkness approaches. It is the only light that will guide you through. Remember the stories. Remember the trees. Remember your connections to each other. Fix your heart on what matters most, for there may come a time when you will no longer see these things. When the foreign chaos arrives, hold fast to the one thing in your heart that carries the light. It will be enough to pull you through.”
Eshan’s voice grew soft as he prepared to leave them. “Change is coming. If you resist, you will suffer. Be like the fish in the stream, flowing with the current, navigating the rocks and jagged edges with grace. This time will pass, but how you move through it will define you.”
With those final words, Eshan turned back toward the cave, disappearing into the silence once more. His message lingered in the air, heavy with the weight of both warning and hope.
The river flows in silence. There within is the lesson. Is it in the current or the stillness?
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Copyright © 2024 by David Matthew Olatunji Bey
Photo by Elina Sazonova