I’m walking down the Coast Highway the other day, minding my own business, doing a little window shopping, checking out menus at the restaurants, and just as I reach “E” Street the light turns red.
I stand at the curb a respectable distance from its edge and count off the mind-numbing mechanized seconds on the traffic signal inside my head. With fourteen seconds left to go, Truth, Goodness, and Beauty sidle up alongside me—immensely gracious, all smiles, not the least bit uppity as you might expect—and nod in greeting. I didn’t see them coming but I knew who they were. I’d seen them around. I have some questions, so I take the opportunity to strike up a conversation.
“What is Truth?” I say to the tall, straight one, rising up on my tiptoes, wanting to stand eye-to-eye.
Truth replies: “We are ageless and eternal.”
I look into the face of the kind one, the merciful one, the one whose heartbeat thrums in my ears. “What is Goodness?” I ask, my voice tremulous with need.
Goodness replies: “Everything and everyone matters.”
I do a 180 and look directly into the eyes of the dreamboat. I am starstruck. Gobsmacked.
There are no words. No breath. I honor and adore.
The light is about to change. I don’t want to miss out, so I bring my fist quickly to my chest, give it a pound, and jumpstart my heart. Then I whisper, “What is Beauty?”
Beauty replies: “Everything and everyone is sacred.”
The light turns green. I give them the old thumbs up and we cross the street. Together.
I have always wanted to take this road, but I did not know I would take it today.
Margaret Wolff is a writer, storyteller, art therapist, and retreat leader. Her work celebrates the ways in which the collective wisdom and storytelling reveal the truth and beauty of our inner lives and connect us—heart to beating heart—to each other.
COMING HOME: Finding Shelter in the Love and Wisdom of Paramahansa Yogananda (White Pearl Press, May 20201), is a curated collection of 14 modern-day stories of spiritual awakening that reflect “the most creative and transformative experience life can offer—developing an intimate partnership with the invisible God of one’s heart.”
Available wherever fine books are sold.