Welcome to the 4am Club.
It's well-attended.
People come and go freely.
There are no membership fees.
Drop-ins are always welcome.
Some people bring their physical pain:
headaches, back aches, restless legs.
Some bring their soul pain.
The language of tears is spoken.
Emotions circulate around the room:
fear, sadness, shame –
all the ones that crawl under the bed
when daylight comes.
Often prayers are whispered.
Blessings are blown across the miles
to loved ones.
Healing incantations are said
for those who suffer.
Peace is yearned for.
Thanksgivings echo through the night.
In the generosity of darkness and silence,
dreams are remembered:
nighttime dreams, childhood dreams, daydreams awaken forgotten pathways.
From time to time, joy pops in for a visit.
So do the cats. Lured by magic,
they find their way to a warm lap
and doze off.
Visions of beauty show up,
And creative weavers
wander around, aimlessly.
Sometimes a mysterious focus grabs hold.
Then, a light appears in the darkness,
revealing the unfathomable love
that holds everything together.
We come to a clear, shallow river in the forest. It is quiet here except for singing birds and the sound of the moving water. Don Adrian speaks:
For many sons you have walked across the lands of my ancestors, and in all your experiences, you have seen how everything has two sides, just like this river. To see life in terms of good and bad limits our ability to create and be whole. Embracing polarity is necessary to bring about creation. Like the river, we could not exist without polarity. Were it not for darkness, would we still seek the light? Were is not for shade, would we not get burned? Find the gift that each side has to offer. Let those gifts be married within you. Free yourself of judgment. Become like the river.