No Place to Hide
Page 39
It’s that space, the threshold, where I was in so much needless angst. That space between the here and the not yet is where the life we are always creating lives… even now. We’re creating life in this moment, Artie. Creating for a future we have yet to see.”
Smythe took in a long breath. She explained to Artie that it was here, in this wooded ocean community she so long-ago visualized residing. It was here she envisioned where she would spend her life with a yet-unknown partner. Only she simply saw it as a dream, a mere fantasy. There was nothing that would indicate it would ever be a tangible reality. And, because there were no outside tangibles to suggest her dream would become a reality, she simply folded the desire into her heart, hoping against hope to make it a reality.
“Darkness seemed to envelop me every day. I remember thinking those months were one long, dark night of the soul. But then I remembered meditating on the fabric of darkness, and as I look back, I recognize there was always an illumination—much like the story I told you about when I died. Even though it was dark, there was an illumination. My Beloved was there then. Was there during those awful months; was always there, and so were you. While I don’t ever, and I mean ever, want to experience that darkness again, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. My soul expanded, and the love for others expanded as well.
“I remember hanging out with our ohana one morning on Oahu, and one of them asked me a question. Do you remember?” Smythe asked.
“I remember. ‘How did you distinguish between your own voice and the voice of the sacred?’ I found your response interesting.”
“Yeah. God’s voice has always been one of hope and possibility. One of wonder and joy, even when things got hard. It was a voice of deep, abiding peace. But the other voice, the voice that shook me to my core, was one of condemnation, accusation, guilt, and shame. And that voice roared loud with all of its accompanying emotions.”
Smythe paused. She could feel a tingle down her spine.
“I just grasped the difference in the two voices in a deeper way.”
“How so?” Artie asked.
“Well, in almost all faiths, it is said that the Beloved’s voice is quiet. I remember the voice I was fighting against to stay alive. It was so loud that I couldn’t hear my Beloved. I couldn’t seem to get quiet enough. It was only when sleep finally came that I was aware of a low-pitched melody playing in my head. An old gospel song that I play when I’m running. It was a song of hope, a song where I didn’t need to struggle; it was a song that said my Beloved would help me through. I just needed to hang on and do the next thing I knew I was supposed to do. Even if it seemed outrageous to others, it wasn’t for my life. It’s what Joao had been talking about. My Beloved was singing the melody of my life, and only I could offer the response song.”
“I think I’m still singing the response song,” she said, smiling at Artie.
“Yeah, you are.” Artie paused with a mischievous look pulling at the corners of her mouth. “So, ummm... about that unknown person in this dream…”
“Oh, for Pete’s sake! I married you, didn’t I?”
“Just checking, baby. Just checking,” Artie replied, smiling widely. She gazed out onto the shoreline, breathing in deep. “Want to go kayaking later today?”
“What time do we pick up Davey?”
“His flight comes in at 7:00 this evening.”
“Then, yes, let’s kayak. But I also need time to finish a model plane I’ve made for him.”
“He’s gonna go crazy over it.”
“I hope so.”
“Artie?”
“Hmm?”
“I love you.”
“I know. I love you too, Smythe.”
Smythe looked out onto the shore and reflected on Artie and the qualities she was attracted to. Here sat this woman, full of courage, grit, intelligence, infinite compassion, kindness, and action, making a living as a protector of others. In an instant flash of clarity, she recognized that all of those qualities were actually qualities within herself. Artie was simply a human mirror of Smythe—a mirror of us all, really. Not of what she hoped to be, but of who she currently was.
For a time, she did not recognize those same qualities, for they were wrapped differently and spoke differently than Artie. The only difference between them was that Smythe had not tapped into her potential. She thought about the past year. She had attracted not only what she wanted, but what she needed. She marveled at the intricate weave of thought, hope, prayer, meditation, and energy which provided the circumstances for her to recognize all that she was be-ing.
Smythe had come home to herself and sat next to a partner; a wife who continued to mirror back to her the questions of her deepest longing. She wondered at the infinite God of the Universe—her Beloved, and she knew her Beloved conspired on her behalf.
*
* *
Along the seashore, along the western shores of Kauai, Joao sat with Akamu.
“It is done?” asked Akamu.
“The debt is paid, yes,” replied Joao. Joao looked up to the sky. It was a clear day, and he could see far out to sea. He imagined that across the ocean, sat Smythe, gazing out to the sea. He thought about the islands. About Akamu. He knew the islands faced an uncertain future.
“Does she yet understand, Joao?”
“I am unsure. But the one she loves senses it and will protect her. Of this I am sure. I understand she has met with some here on the island.”
Akamu remained silent, breathing in deeply as he watched the waves gently rolling onto the sandy residue of a thousand lifetimes.
…what if there is no problem?
About Opa Hysea Wise
Opa Hysea Wise is an American author, born to mixed race parents. She grew up across the fabric of the United States and currently resides out West.
At 57, with nothing more than a knowing, Opa felt she was called away from her normal, relatively safe corporate life. She resigned her position, pulled her life savings out of the market and step by step followed the wisdom of her Beloved. Her footsteps led her first to Jack Canfield, considered America’s number one success coach. Certified as a Success Principles trainer and speaker, Opa now offers half-day and full-day workshops focused on shifting people from where they are to where they want to be, in any area of their life.