If Only He Will Respond. He Must Respond

Tired but undeterred, in that moment all the dreams and efforts finally confirmed for him the true nature of the universe and his existence in it.  Fate, it turned out, was a Scylla-myth, and random wanderings a mere Charybdis-mirage.  His Purpose, screeching like a desperate gull, begged him embark, promising the great adventure just beyond his sight.  If only he will respond.  He must respond.

The next morning, he released his timid mooring line and set off.  Storms and struggles be damned.  Taking a crisp sea breath, he set his feet on that sturdy deck and leaned forward. The sun and cool splash breeze pressed his beard into his skin.  His sails filled with hope, and he tacked toward the open water, chasing the great gull’s call.  

Freedom and meaning are found not amongst the safe ports but amidst the stormy legs of Life’s great voyage.  Arks, it turns out, have sails and rudders, built not just to preserve but to propel and guide us toward our dreams and efforts as we navigate our great journeys.  If only we will respond.  We must respond.

He had embraced his hope, and it became real the moment he strode aboard and pulled up anchor.  He had responded to his faith with his works.  He gazed and sailed just beyond the horizon, heeding intently the call of the screeching gull against whose cries he oriented the vessel.   To where his Purpose awaited, itself the reward for his determined voyage.  And where his great gull was transformed into a Dove, and where eternal Peace abides, awaiting his arrival with open arms and a fish broiling on the Garden’s shoreline campfire, ready to be shared.  He had responded.  We must respond.

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