On being in the moment vs past and future

You gaze up the tunnel of white light, lost in its beauty. The brilliance gives way to swirls of every colour, all at once. It calls to you, warms you, calms you, invites you to rise, to meet it.

Hypnotised by awe

You do not realise at first that some unseen force is drawing you into its loving embrace.

Drifting higher up the tunnel, you notice you are not alone: other souls surround you on your journey ever upwards. However, you also spot another procession, descending. As your toil is ending, theirs is just beginning. You contemplate this, the fairness, the justice of this reality. You conclude that, ultimately, such things are out of one’s control; the force gently pulling you is the same force gently lowering them.

It occurs to you that you need each other

You can’t rise if they can’t descend. You are part of something bigger than yourself, and this force, whatever it may be, always seeks balance.

A Garden meets you at the top

A sacred place. Where one may reflect on all that one has seen. Friendly ghosts of yesterday bring the past to life, as if the illusion of time has been pulled back. You learn all there is to know, every question answered, about whatever brought you here.

Sometimes life gets too full

The buckets we juggle start to spill, and it all comes pouring down. Life is all about buckets, overflowing buckets. Do not run from them, for they will follow. Embrace them. Close your eyes.

Take a deep breath,

reframe the chaos as love and acceptance. They will overflow, and that’s okay. Let them. Some buckets will empty, others will fill.

It is the natural way of things

The only constant is change. Breathe in the moment, and wait for the big one to fill up and tip. Keep watching, for that is not the end, just a grander turn of the cycle.

Only a fool believes we need to choose between our favourite Wellington tourist attractions. Pitting the Cable Car against the Bucket Fountain is a false dichotomy: the soul needs both. Just as day follows night and peace follows war, so too does bucket follow cable.