The student queried teacher, asking, "Who am I, what is my place?"
Teacher answered this way:
The rock on the hillside stands solid,
A silent sentinel to life in the valley
Until wind and water wash him away.
He doesn't ask why.
The mockingbird sings a sweet song
Learning new songs from others around him.
He doesn't hesitate to sing,
Never asks, "which song is mine?"
The water in the spring bubbles forth
Flows into a journeying river
Then later becomes a lake.
Yet water asks neither his name nor his place
You, my student, with your mind alight with knowing,
You can be any of these you desire.
Cast your thought outward,
Be the sentinel on the hill, the voice in the sky, the water bubbling forth
For you share the consciousness of all.
Copyright © 2010 Mary Beth Watt. All rights reserved.
