Short Story: The master meets another master in the street, and learns something from him too.
By emptychair
@innertalks (23744)
Australia
January 24, 2021 10:30pm CST
The renowned spiritual master, Abba Isaac, of Perpetuah, was walking idly along the streets of his home town, Perpetuah.
He liked to do this at least once a week, to see who he might meet, at random.
There is no greater love than the love of others, and no greater fear than the fear of others.
We should never be afraid of loving a new soul in our life, and we should not fear to meet them.
Fear is linked to our placing our trust only within ourselves. When we trust love, we can do all things through that love.
On this day, the master met up with a street-sweeper.
The man had a large broom, and was sweeping the leaves off of the streets, and footpaths, into neat piles.
The man came up to the master, and he said to him:
"Are you not the great master, himself?"
"What are you doing walking on my streets here? I thought that you always kept to your own part of the town."
The master replied, with his characteristically alive smile.
"When you are here, I am here, as all streets look the same to one who sees the people in it, not the street. I walk here to meet you, not to meet your streets."
The man looked again at the master's face, to see if he was patronising him in a peppering way, or in other ways, flattering him, with nice words only.
He saw deeper than the surface smile, to the smile of God, within the master, which touched his own heart now too.
He also smiled then, and said.
"I am glad I met up with you today then. Your smile is as crackly to my heart, as the rustle of these leaves are to my feet. I enjoy this job, walking amongst the fallen leaves, just as much as you seem to do also, when you walk among the fallen leaves, of fallen souls too."
The master replied:
"You hunger for me, as much as I hunger for you."
"We help each other to see past each other to God."
"These surface meetings can touch the silent deepness of loving hearts, as we both have, and they encourage us both to keep plodding through the outer life, with our inner life still there attached to us, for us too, not detached from us, by the pain of our lives, replacing the love in our hearts."
"Those who throw only love at each other can never hurt each other. Throwing anything else can incur such hurt."
The street sweeper went back to his sweeping.
The master kept on walking idly along some more.
This meeting of personages was not an idle one though, on both sides of the equation was only the highest of love and respect, for each other, as all of our meetings with other people should always be too.
Photo Credit: The photo used in this article was sourced from the free media site, pixabay.com
When meeting people, we should not leaves well enough alone, but extend to them the hand of love instead, always. We should leave no stone unturned, where love is concerned.
6 people like this
4 responses
@Deepizzaguy (122313)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
25 Jan 21
Thank you for sharing this excellent story. I learned something.
3 people like this
@innertalks (23744)
• Australia
25 Jan 21
Thanks. I am glad that you enjoyed my story, and got something from it too.
3 people like this
@Deepizzaguy (122313)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
25 Jan 21
@innertalks I am working on quit getting angry over events I cannot control like enjoying a show when shows did not have cuss words on them.
2 people like this
@innertalks (23744)
• Australia
25 Jan 21
@Deepizzaguy Yes, events will always happen, in our lives, in one way or another. If we can move across to seeing them from the eyes of love, rather than from any anger, we will better see their true place in our lives then too.
Such events seldom occur with no reason to them.
All is linked together in some ways, as a part of God's overall plan, I think.
@Shiva49 (28397)
• Singapore
25 Jan 21
Yes Steve, one tends to ignore others who we think do not make the cut, but they are uncut diamonds too and with a bit of searching questions and compassion we can glean pearls of wisdom
The spiritual master is enriched by his openness rather than get cloistered with his followers who prove more of sycophants and yes men.
True love knows no borders and gets enhanced through our sharing - even a smile opens doors. Our life gets rejuvenated though such encounters you have detailed here. The hatred we are sowing though keeps us fully occupied putting out the fires therefrom.
2 people like this
@innertalks (23744)
• Australia
25 Jan 21
Thanks, siva.
I know that you value these types of "random" meetings too, and that you have been helped by the fortuitous meeting of some stranger, or acquaintance, that has helped you at that time too, in what was otherwise a sticky situation for you.
Encounters with others should uplift us, not deflate us.
2 people like this
@innertalks (23744)
• Australia
25 Jan 21
@Shiva49 Yes, that's a great tell-after story, but whilst in the event, it would create some very anxious moments, until we see the hand of God, still there in our hand, holding it, sometimes indirectly, via someone else's hand too.
In the moment it is often hard to see these connections, until we jell to it afterwards.
1 person likes this
@Shiva49 (28397)
• Singapore
25 Jan 21
@innertalks Yes Steve, the one that is etched in my memory was in Australia.
My son and I had to reach Melbourne at the last minute from Singapore. Some visa issues made this trip more difficult than for others. It was routed through Perth and I took it for granted the domestic flights also were from the same airport or just nearby. Big mistake. A combination of difference in hours and a couple of old gentlemen from India, who had preceded us, with undeclared items at the customs made it touch and go.
Then a student from India was going to Geelong and told us the domestic airport was miles away and he was also rushing along. We ran after him, took the same cab. He had sprinted ahead and by the time we reached the departure gate, it had closed. During those times my erstwhile colleague who was my PA way back in 1970s swung into action. He was by now "across the shore". Hey presto, the captain said wave them in.
Then a few others along similar lines when I was hitting a brick wall. God is everywhere and in everyone too; it is up to us to see him in his creations.
2 people like this
@just4him (323168)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
25 Jan 21
@innertalks I like reading them. Some I need to read a couple of times because they're of a philosophical nature and that usually flies over my head.
2 people like this
@innertalks (23744)
• Australia
25 Jan 21
@just4him Yes, most of my stories have a philosophical flavour to them, because I like to muse philosophically about different things, and that's why I write them.
2 people like this
@innertalks (23744)
• Australia
25 Jan 21
Thanks, for coming across, and reading my attempts at writing short stories here too. Some are better than others. I like to write such stories.
2 people like this
@innertalks (23744)
• Australia
25 Jan 21
Thanks. I am pleased that you liked my story, and the way that I tried to write it up.
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