Astream, from its source in faroff mountains, passing through countryside, at last reached the sands of the desert. Just as it had crossed every other barrier, the stream tried to cross this one, but it found as it ran into the sands, its waters disappearing.
It was convinced, however, that its destiny was to cross this desert, and yet there seemed no way. A hidden voice coming from the desert whispered, “The wind crosses the desert and so can the stream.” The stream objected that it was dashing itself against the sand and only getting absorbed; that the wind could fly and this is why it could cross the desert.
The voice said, “By hurtling in your own accustomed way you cannot get across. You will either disappear or become a marsh. You must allow the wind to carry you over to your destination.”
“But how could this happen?”
“By allowing yourself to be absorbed in the wind.”
This idea was not acceptable to the stream. After all it had never been absorbed before. It did not want to lose its individuality. And once having lost it how was it to know that it could ever be regained.
“The wind,” said the sand, “performs this function. It takes up water, carries it over the desert and then lets it fall again. Falling as rain, the water again becomes a river.” Although trembling, the stream raised its vapour into the welcoming arms of the wind, which gently and easily bore it upwards and along, letting it fall softly as soon as they reached the roof of a mountain, many many miles away. And the stream began afresh.
The stream was learning how to cross the desert. The sand whispered, “We know because we see it happen day after day, and because we, the sands, extend from the riverside all the way to the mountains.”
And that is why it is said that the way in which the stream of life is to continue on its journey, is written in the sands.
Life is a constant change, a movement. Every change seems to you a crisis because you want to remain the same, to hold on to your accustomed ways. But if you try to remain the same, you will create misery because you will be fighting against life itself. The message is flow, let it go. And don’t be afraid, because this stream has been flowing down the ages for centuries — there is no need to be afraid.
We always react from our past. It has always worked, so we think it is going to work in every situation, but one day a situation arises where your past is simply irrelevant; it doesn’t work. That is real crisis and real opportunity too.
If you have the intelligence to see that the problem is new so the answer has to be new — old answers won’t do — if you have that intelligence to see, then it is a great opportunity. Passing through the desert you will attain to great maturity and integration.
Fresh Beginnings, Osho Times International, courtesy: Osho International Foundation, www.osho.com ■
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