Each day, a shepherd grazed his sheep about the land. He would gather them by a lake where they all could drink.
The shepherd looked into the lake each day and saw his reflection. Comforted, he thought to himself, “I am here”.
Day after day, this shepherd returned to the lake and his image.
One day, he approached the lake and could not see his self. He only saw drops of rain splashing the surface, dancing and plummeting into the water. Ripples upon ripples covered the top of the lake. His face was no where to be seen. The shepherd worried that he no longer existed, threw himself back upon the ground.
With eyes closed, he felt the cool drops upon his face, he appreciated the warm earth that held his back and the song that played between the lake and the rain.
The shepherd remained.
The next day, the shepherd returned to the lake and again saw his face and thought to himself, “I am here”. He sat and longed for the amazement he had witnessed earlier.
He looked beyond his reflection, the lake, and the sheep and he remained.
The next day, the shepherd returned. He saw his self and sat back. He tossed a blade of grass into the lake, then another and another. Suddenly, the shepherd saw the grass blades float upon the lake. They rippled and moved. The ripples continued as they moved in and out of each other.
Then he saw the sun’s rays jump off of the lake and into his face! Breathing in, filling his self with warmth, brightness, and appreciation, the shepherd looked into the lake to find his reflection.
To which the shepherd cried out. “I am alive!”
This was given to me in a meditation