|
|
First
visiting the land of New Zealand, he met, discovered, and fell in love with the
beauty of a simple life - waking up peacefully in the beauty of the mountains,
enjoying the fellowship of a culture barely tainted by the modern world. Hitchhiking
from town to town, villa to villa, Lancelot met a collage of people who shared
with him the simplicity of living amidst nature. As
Lancelot moved on, he found himself traveling to the Land of Australia - a vast
continent only slightly smaller than the place we call home. Along
his journey in the land of OZ (Australia) one day he had the good fortune to
meet a gentleman by the name of Sir Peters. Sir
Peters was a very unusual man. He had a face with the equal magnificence of the
Captain from the Book "Old Man and the Sea", with big round features,
dark eyes, and a brownish-gray beard filled with the color and understanding of
a well-traveled man. With a smile etched into his cheeks and forehead by the
sun, he was a wise and learned man. Sir
Peters, seeing that Lancelot was tired from his journey, invited him into his
home to share some warm food and tea. As their conversation grew, each sharing
different stories from the journey of their lives, Sir Peters sensed a special
quality in Lancelot - a quality unusual in this age of speed and mediocrity. So
much was he impressed, that he shared with him a mysterious secret which he told
as a story. A story to change his
life forever. Sir
Peters took Lancelot to the back stall of his magical sugar cane plantation,
leading him to an old creaky door - a door which, though no longer used, carried
a volume of stories from times magical past. Pointing
to the keyhole, an old skeleton type system with an opening so big light could
shine through, Sir Peters asked Lancelot to place his ear over the keyhole and
to listen silently. And
so he did! And much to his surprise, Lancelot recognized the sound of a frog
coming from the keyhole. Unbelievable he thought, how did you get the frog into
the keyhole. Really,
I didn't said Sir Peters. When that frog was but a tadpole, by some strange act
of nature, he was carried into that hole, and there he grew, each day living off
the bugs and insects that passed through the hole.
And there he is now - forever stuck, living on whatever nature provides,
without any chance of getting to the other side. As
tears filled the old man's eyes, he shared a simple truth... “And
so too Lancelot, so many of us live our lives as frogs in a keyhole, never
breaking away from the patterns, beliefs and behaviors of those who influenced
us when we were but tiny children”. “Many
people will forever live their lives as a frog in a key-hole, never taking the
chance, or looking for a way to get outside and live their dreams - accepting
the trappings of time, never really being free. Inside the keyhole..., well, the
frog is secure. He knows that he will never go far, but also knows that, at
least he will always have food - always have shelter”. Between
the frog and the world is a keyhole. Fear is what keeps him in. Love is what is
on the other side, and faith is what will set him free. And
so on this one day, by some miracle, the frog had a vision - inspired by God,
angel, or perhaps some other source of divinity, he had a vision to move to the
other side of love - to leave the key-hole and explore the world. A leap of
faith if you will. And
so there he rested. A frog in a key
hole with a dream. Inside the keyhole he was quite unshapely. But outside there
were no limits to what he could do, say or become, none but the ones he placed
upon himself by the wrong use of the power of his thoughts and imagination. In
a moment's time, the frog prayed for an angel to enter his life, and grant him
the opportunity to be free. And so it happened. An angel came and granted the
frog the one wish to set him free. "Frog...,
I am here as an answer to your prayer. I grant you one wish, and with that wish,
the ability to be free. What shall it be?" Teary-eyed
with excitement, the frog pondered all he knew of the world, and all that he
wanted to be and become, and in his thinking, knowing that his awareness of the
world was limited to his experiences in the key-hole, he made one wish. Angel,
he said, my wish is to become a caterpillar. As a caterpillar I will be able to
crawl out of this hole, onto the door, and out into the world. I will be able to
walk upon the grass, crawl up trees, enjoy the swiftness of a cool autumn
breeze, and live freely as all other animals do. I
do this knowing that one day I will die! But really angel…, a caterpillar
never dies. They move from one life
to the next, and that movement may be the most difficult moment ever - the pain
of change - from caterpillar, to cocoon, to butterfly.
But I know this one thing to be true… What
The Caterpillar Calls
|