Peace on Paper: A Thread to Clutch

Written by Sage Kohen

What would you do if two dear friends had different stories of the same events, and these stories threatened the very integrity of something larger than just their personal relationship?

I’ll tell you what I did: I listened … to both sides, ultimately deciding to not choose a side.

As much as it pains me to see an incredible idea that was set in motion and cultivated over many seasons by many caring and daring folks fade, all I can offer is this: There are lessons within every experience for us to glean if we’re willing to humble ourselves and honestly look within. When we learn these all-too-often tough lessons, we are then capable of digesting the hardship and transmuting them into sustenance that can further our growth, personally and collectively.

Once we step out of the space of blame and allow our egos to take a backseat, we are then capable of listening clearly to the messages coming forth, which is why the saying goes, “Hindsight is always better than foresight.”

Amid the muck and mire of trials and tribulations, we often become so immersed in the drama of it all that we can’t see the gems hiding beneath the surface. But the gems are always there. Covered in muck though they may be, they rest within our reach.

I received a fortune the other day that said, “The virtue lies in the struggle, not in the prize.” I read this fortune every day to remind me that every challenge has a lesson with a blessing in store. Sometimes we get so fixated on an idea that we exhaust ourselves figuring out how we can get to the prize. But the prize is right before our very eyes. The prize resides inside us, and all we have to do is acknowledge the grace that engulfs us each moment we take a deep breath, sip fresh water, gaze at the glowing red rocks at dusk, or share a hug with someone we love.

The prize is not in the future. The prize rests here, in this present of a moment! We have to be present to behold the prize, which is life — full of its ups and downs, its lessons and blessings.

Sometimes we have to get cooked in the fire of our own desires and trials to understand what’s necessary and what’s detrimental. Every potter knows that the power of a cup resides in the empty space. If we are seeking to be a vessel of any sort, especially a vessel of goodwill and virtue, there is a hollowing out and reshaping that must occur. Sometimes we don’t get the cup we seek on the first try. Sometimes our hands falter, and the cup doesn’t withstand prolonged use. Sometimes there’s just not enough empty space to fill our thirst. Then there are those incredible moments when we get exactly what we thought was impossible because we keep trying, and we learn to let go of our ego and let the vast mystery of life unfold.

I’d like to close by sharing a poem I wrote — or rather, a poem that wrote me.

A Thread to Clutch

All we’re given is a thread to clutch.
We often don’t see the thread
or offer it much attention,
but entwined within this
is everything that ever was!

From just a tiny strand,
entire galaxies are woven.
Encoded within
resides every profound, triumphant
act of creation.

Just to glimpse this thread
is to witness miracles
that have moved mountains,
parted seas and exposed us
to the wonder of it all.

We are miracles in the making.
Every particle of existence is imbued
with an indomitable will to thrive,
to carry on beyond breaking points
and reinforce the essence of IS-ness.

Life is woven together by miracles,
one after the other,
strung together like intricate bead-work.
Every breath is a blessing from the leaf;
every leaf draws its power from sol
and gathers sustenance from depths below;
even light must be reinforced by darkness,
cradled by its presence.

Darkness
is the great incubator
of life.
A seed must be buried to rise.
Each one of us slops through muck
just to catch a glimpse of paradise,
and what a glimpse it is
when we witness it.

Sage Kohen, originally from Georgia, now lives in New Mexico. Sage was born on the day that the Peace Pilgrim left this world in July, 1981. Since that time, Sage has been to some of the darkest and brightest places of the body, mind, and soul. He now shares his wisdom while generously growing organic foods in the highlands of Taos and sprinkling organic seeds of truth along the pathways of life.

The “Peace on Paper” column is managed and provided as a public service by Daniel L Pettegrew, the founder of the former World Peace Gardens Foundation and creator of the “Doors of Hope” collection for the Erin Kimball Foundation. Creating Community, Celebrating Peace.