It is weird not to hear sounds. The most natural sounds that we take for granted, when removed out of the equation, form a sound vacuum so uncomfortable that one cannot bear it. As I sat there in the cold sand, a vast ocean before me, without a crest or a trough, an off white mist in the distant horizon which blurred the lines where the ocean ended and the sky started, I experienced something of that sort.
It was early morning, judging by the exposure of sunlight. The waves slowly formed and crashed against the sand and that was the only sound I could hear. Birds soared above in the sky, in varying figures, but I did not hear their cacophony. I was all alone on the beach, as alone as when we come into the world and as alone as when we leave it. Was I entering this world? Or was I leaving it?
A distant figure caught my attention. In a place where I could not spot a single human, the mind quickly notices someone of your species. The lady was still at a distance, clad in a white robe, emitting an aura around her which was hard to miss. She was walking in my direction, and something drew me to her. She had kind dark brown eyes, the ones which could penetrate through the soul and see what lay inside; jet black hair, and she carried a radiant smile which could ease a person of all worry.
"Who are you?", I asked her.
"I am you", she replied with the same smile which made me feel dumb for asking the question, despite not knowing what the answer meant.
I contemplated replying in an appropriate manner, but was broken off my train of thought.
"You didn't understand what I just said right?", she interrupted me.
"No", I replied with a tinge of embarrassment.
"Why didn't you ask for a further explanation?"
"Because I didn't want to look dumb"
"Are you dumb?"
"I don't think so"
"Then what does it matter what I think about you?"
"Umm okay. So who are you?"
"I am you"
"I still don't follow"
"You will, one day. Hopefully"
"So you're gonna advise me to ask questions, but not give the answers?"
"The other important thing about asking a question, is who you ask it to. Ask a goldsmith about software, and he'll be as helpful to you, as I am to you"
"Are you a goldsmith?"
"I am you"
"Okay. So who should I ask this to?"
"Who else is here, beside me?"
"Me?"
"Correct! Every thing is inside you. Do you think I am real?"
"I'm inclined to say no"
"Correct. As I said, I am you"
"So I'm talking to myself, about talking to myself?"
"Weird, right?", she grinned
"Okay. So let me make the most of this and ask you some top ten questions. The ones which all of us wonder at some point or the other" I continued, not sharing or understanding her sense of humor.
"Go on"
"What is life all about?"
"Do you see those waves? Notice the piercing silence when all the waves have subsided and a new wave is just going to crash into the sand. Life is all about that piercing silence."
"Life is about being in silence? I don't understand"
"Aah. You've learnt to ask questions. Good. I meant it metaphorically. Is it not true, that the piercing silence before the crash of the waves, lasts a split second while the cacophony lasts a while longer?"
"Yes"
"Think of your life as this beach. Life is about those moments of The Zero Level, before the illusion of the world (in form of the crashing waves) disturb the Zero Level. Life is all about maximizing those Zero Level moments and maintaining some of the calmness even while being surrounded by the world. When we are surrounded by the world, we even forget that the Zero Level exists."
"What's the Zero Level?"
"Well it's when your mind has no thoughts. It's in a blank state"
"How can I know what life is all about without any thoughts?" I wondered.
"Sounds counter intuitive right? As you grow, you'll learn that life is counter-intuitive. The more you expect, the more you are disappointed. The more you ask, the less you get. The more you are away from the worldly objects, the more you are at peace with yourself. The richest men, never wanted to become the richest men. It was a by product. The most successful men, did not want to be successful. It was not their driving force. Much like quantum mechanics, our souls are also counter intuitive. After all, quantum mechanics is the study of how subatomic particles behave. Why then, can't it be extrapolated to our soul?"
"Isn't it risky, not to want money when you want it?" I asked
"That's the catch. It's no use pretending not to want money, when you secretly desire to have it. Quantum mechanics won't be fooled by it. The catch is to really not want money, or any worldly object for that matter."
"And if I don't want it, I'll get it?"
"Probably. But it won't matter. You don't want it anyway. By freeing yourself of wants and desires, you free yourself to be happy. After all, happiness is what you make of it. By attaching your happiness to worldly objects, you make your definition of happiness smaller and smaller. Let it be boundless, much like this vast ocean which may well extend beyond this horizon, merge into the sky above and envelope your life."
"Wow!" I exclaimed.
"I know right?!", she grinned. "It's a pity you'll forget all this when you're born into this world."
It was early morning, judging by the exposure of sunlight. The waves slowly formed and crashed against the sand and that was the only sound I could hear. Birds soared above in the sky, in varying figures, but I did not hear their cacophony. I was all alone on the beach, as alone as when we come into the world and as alone as when we leave it. Was I entering this world? Or was I leaving it?
A distant figure caught my attention. In a place where I could not spot a single human, the mind quickly notices someone of your species. The lady was still at a distance, clad in a white robe, emitting an aura around her which was hard to miss. She was walking in my direction, and something drew me to her. She had kind dark brown eyes, the ones which could penetrate through the soul and see what lay inside; jet black hair, and she carried a radiant smile which could ease a person of all worry.
"Who are you?", I asked her.
"I am you", she replied with the same smile which made me feel dumb for asking the question, despite not knowing what the answer meant.
I contemplated replying in an appropriate manner, but was broken off my train of thought.
"You didn't understand what I just said right?", she interrupted me.
"No", I replied with a tinge of embarrassment.
"Why didn't you ask for a further explanation?"
"Because I didn't want to look dumb"
"Are you dumb?"
"I don't think so"
"Then what does it matter what I think about you?"
"Umm okay. So who are you?"
"I am you"
"I still don't follow"
"You will, one day. Hopefully"
"So you're gonna advise me to ask questions, but not give the answers?"
"The other important thing about asking a question, is who you ask it to. Ask a goldsmith about software, and he'll be as helpful to you, as I am to you"
"Are you a goldsmith?"
"I am you"
"Okay. So who should I ask this to?"
"Who else is here, beside me?"
"Me?"
"Correct! Every thing is inside you. Do you think I am real?"
"I'm inclined to say no"
"Correct. As I said, I am you"
"So I'm talking to myself, about talking to myself?"
"Weird, right?", she grinned
"Okay. So let me make the most of this and ask you some top ten questions. The ones which all of us wonder at some point or the other" I continued, not sharing or understanding her sense of humor.
"Go on"
"What is life all about?"
"Do you see those waves? Notice the piercing silence when all the waves have subsided and a new wave is just going to crash into the sand. Life is all about that piercing silence."
"Life is about being in silence? I don't understand"
"Aah. You've learnt to ask questions. Good. I meant it metaphorically. Is it not true, that the piercing silence before the crash of the waves, lasts a split second while the cacophony lasts a while longer?"
"Yes"
"Think of your life as this beach. Life is about those moments of The Zero Level, before the illusion of the world (in form of the crashing waves) disturb the Zero Level. Life is all about maximizing those Zero Level moments and maintaining some of the calmness even while being surrounded by the world. When we are surrounded by the world, we even forget that the Zero Level exists."
"What's the Zero Level?"
"Well it's when your mind has no thoughts. It's in a blank state"
"How can I know what life is all about without any thoughts?" I wondered.
"Sounds counter intuitive right? As you grow, you'll learn that life is counter-intuitive. The more you expect, the more you are disappointed. The more you ask, the less you get. The more you are away from the worldly objects, the more you are at peace with yourself. The richest men, never wanted to become the richest men. It was a by product. The most successful men, did not want to be successful. It was not their driving force. Much like quantum mechanics, our souls are also counter intuitive. After all, quantum mechanics is the study of how subatomic particles behave. Why then, can't it be extrapolated to our soul?"
"Isn't it risky, not to want money when you want it?" I asked
"That's the catch. It's no use pretending not to want money, when you secretly desire to have it. Quantum mechanics won't be fooled by it. The catch is to really not want money, or any worldly object for that matter."
"And if I don't want it, I'll get it?"
"Probably. But it won't matter. You don't want it anyway. By freeing yourself of wants and desires, you free yourself to be happy. After all, happiness is what you make of it. By attaching your happiness to worldly objects, you make your definition of happiness smaller and smaller. Let it be boundless, much like this vast ocean which may well extend beyond this horizon, merge into the sky above and envelope your life."
"Wow!" I exclaimed.
"I know right?!", she grinned. "It's a pity you'll forget all this when you're born into this world."
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