“That Afternoon”

“In the spirit of the colloquy on Oneness and duality they had all engaged in, Skylar now reflected on what ideas from that interchange he might apply to the day itself. He saw immediately that it would be counter-productive to put it on a shelf of honor and hope for other future days that might rival it. The ever-changing surface of the sea would never configure itself in precisely that way again. He was best advised to allow the moments of happiness the day had brought him to be just what they were: moments in a “Now” that, while appearing to change, never really did. But he thought of another deeper lesson: the fineness of that May day did not ultimately consist in the pleasure which they all took from the sunshine and the breeze, the hyacinth’s perfume, and Pete Townsend’s music; these sensations only stood as the outer symbols of their contentment’s true source: the silent peace of the soul. When they all listened to the clean notes of the music, they simply remembered the settled easiness that existed in their hearts. This inner relaxation tickled their joy, the weather and the conversation merely echoing the light they felt inside themselves.”