A Path of Truths

Though the middle of summer, it was cool on the trail thanks to a heavy storm that had passed through the previous evening.

A lone girl could be seen walking, deep in thought—quite familiar with this path she traveled regularly; however, it seemed transformed from its usual splendor into something more magical.

The leaves were a vibrant green and the path was dusted in brush and broken branches. The girl noticed new patterns where dirt and rocks had shifted due to how the rain gathered in puddles then ran downwards to the next lowest point.

As she pondered these changes, she noticed several rocks that stood out to her against the path. They looked pristine and white—like chunks of crystal gleaming in the sunlight.

She wondered about this—she had walked this path many times before and had never noticed these particular rocks. Perhaps the heavy rains had washed them clean of the dirt and dust of the trail?

As she continued and the path wound uphill, she saw more and more of these bright rocks.

This continued to puzzle her, and she decided to ask the Old Tree about it when she got to end of the path. She closed her eyes for a long moment, then opened them: and there they remained, those rocks twinkling at her.

After some time, the girl approached a clearing and there, before her stood the Old Tree. It was gnarled and twisted and grew upwards in a winding fashion with giant boughs that reached up higher than her eyesight could follow. The tree’s canopy of leaves extended over the entirety of the clearing and the breeze gently shifted the leaves, making them look like dangling jewels.

She approached the tree quietly, placed her hand on its trunk and rested her cheek against the cool, rough bark.

“Old Tree,” she whispered, “why is it that when I look at the ground all I see are the bright white rocks on the path? Amongst the thousands of rocks I see daily, these stand out to me. Is it a message?”

Under her hand she could feel the pulse of life within the tree.

“My child,” the tree whispered to her heart, “what you are seeing is that which you set your heart and mind on. Should you set your mind on a different thing then it too, will stand out to you. Try it on your way back, and you will see.”

The girl patted the tree gently and thanked It for its wisdom.

She squeezed her eyes shut and thought to herself,

“I’d like to focus on the rocks with stripes of orange...they remind me of tigers in the wild...”

She slowly opened her eyes and left the clearing. As she headed back towards home she saw it!

The bright white rocks had faded into her periphery and the rocks that stood out to her were indeed, the tiger rocks she had thought upon.

Giddy with excitement, she closed her eyes and focused on the dark grey rocks. She looked out and there! All the grey rocks shone out to her and made her heart smile.

She played this game all the way back home and hid these new truths in her heart:

Storms though rough and harsh, can bring about a beautiful transformation—whether cleaner rocks, new paths from the rain, or vibrancy and richness of color.

And most importantly, that whatever she chose her mind to focus on—that is what she would find! She knew it would be the same regardless of whether she sought happy things, positive things and truths, or alternately—sad and negative and dark things.