There was a part of the teaching that I could not understand. I could not see how denying the dream could be reconciled with not becoming a complete cynic, a complete fool. There was a piece missing, and I did not know that the path itself would eventually give it to me.
When you decide to embark on it, all you have is a little faith and a promise. It is like following a treasure map without even knowing whether the place marked with an X actually exists.
As the path unfolds and forgiveness gradually comes to completion—which means that you are exercising your will to perceive the world differently—the heart slowly begins to open. The cynic gradually fades away as the tears of the world are wept.
It becomes the bridge connecting the dream of suffering with Heaven.
Where the darkness of the dream and the light of Heaven converge, its pain is transmuted. It is the place where the distance between Heaven and earth grows shorter. From there, you can reach out because you can understand another. From there, you can see yourself reflected in them, allowing the barriers that once separated you to disappear. From there, you can offer light and alternatives to a troubled mind, imprisoned within itself and its own misery.
Your feet are in the mud while you receive the gifts of Heaven. Gifts that you freely give away. You feel your feet buried in the mud. Otherwise, how could you possibly understand? And without understanding, how could you help?
The heart closes itself for protection when it is unable to bear a perceived absence of love. And a person whose heart is closed dies while still alive: they become incapable of feeling, of loving.
They become incapable of perceiving the light and beauty in all things. They become incapable of seeing time stand still in the absolute peace that comes with the absence of conflict. They slowly dry up and wither away.
The path opens your heart because you are willing to embrace pain and forgive it. It opens your heart because you are capable of forgiveness. In doing so, you become receptive and begin to appreciate things that once passed unnoticed because, in your eyes, they held no value.
Eventually, the cynic disappears, and only Love remains.
Only that which you always were, but chose to forget, remains.