"I Met a Mystic Along a Dusty Pathway - I Had Never Seen Such Magic"

We often judge ourselves harsher than needed. Sometimes the focus should be more on the beauty that is all around us. It is such a dear and simple thing to embrace magic.

"I Met a Mystic Along a Dusty Pathway - I Had Never Seen Such Magic"

There was a mystic
along the pathway
I saw him from a distance.
It became clear as I approached him
that I
was in the face of truth.

My eyes blurred
mixed with tears
for I had never seen magic
up close before.
I had never embraced the truth
in such pure form
as that afternoon
there on a simple dirt road.

I could not speak.
I could barely think really
it was a day that felt too bright
to look upon
and so
I did indeed
look away from him
as he began to pass me by.

He didn't pass me by though.
No
he stood directly in front of me.
I had nowhere to look
but up.
Up to see his eyes on mine.

Feelings of being found out
my plight
my woes
my insecurities
about a forever meaning
he seemed to spy them all.
I was
to me at least
exposed.

What is it that causes us to spill all
when confronted with pure honesty?
Embracing it seemed past logic
it encompassed a certain instinct
one that reels in misgivings about grace.

My will was overpowered
not because I had been beaten into submission
not because proof had glared at me
causing me to succumb.
No
It was a holiness that filled the air
a rainbow on my skin
and a dance
that lead past the skyline.

What I expected from his eyes
seeing me
seeing through me
was a book of rules...
Now you do this
and no more of that.

But the Mystic
only gave me an empty pages
and said
Find your own way
and with every step you take
remember your place in this world
for it is just as holy
as the dawning of a recognition
a removed veil
that reveals the pureness of beauty itself.
Open your eyes
and see the light of creativity.
It has been present all the while
you simply lost your way
and stopped looking for it.
Open your eyes
for a host of elegance displayed.

I could not accept such generosity.
But what about the list
of things that are wrong with me
I don't see it within these pages.

There is no need to write that down
he calmly said
those things seem to burn within you
on their own
you already know your frailties.
Focus on the lovely things
know when others need your help
in seeing those things too.
Take of your shoes
if someone needs them
and you'll be fine.

I wanted to fall to the ground
kiss his feet
but in the very moment
that I accepted his words
he was...
gone.

I thought of Rumi then
of that quote I had rehearsed so many times:

"Today, like every other day, we wake up empty and frightened. Don't open the door to the study and begin reading. Take down a musical instrument.

Let the beauty we love be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground." ~ Rumi

And there
along the roadside
I did kiss the ground.

by Kathy Ostman-Magnusen
copyright 2009