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*Brian Wilcox. 'Basking in the Light'. Flickr
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Written on the thirteenth day of silent retreat at Raven's Rest hermitage, in the Great Smoky Mountains, outside Hot Springs, North Carolina.
A continuance of dialogues with a sage who did not see himself as a sage, but others did; from Brian K. Wilcox. "Meetings with an Anonymous Sage," followed by verse.
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A question was posed in group discussion with the sage, by a first-time visitor from the local community who had shared in the evening group meditation.
What is the most important gift you see yourself offering to others who come into your presence?
You just said it, except I do not offer it.
What do you mean?
Presence, not my presence, gives itself, no one gives it.
What is this like, practically?
Spontaneous.
Can you give a concrete analogy?
No judge and no jury.
What does this feel like to others?
Spaciousness.
How does one do that?
No one does it.
Then, how does it happen?
In absence.
So, how can you give to others and be absent at the same time?
As said, I am not the giver. I is never the giver.
And who or what is the giver?
The giver is the gift, the gift is the giver.
And this giver, or gift?
Both is one.
I'm more confused the more we talk?
Always a good time to enjoy quietness.
* * *
the scent of the perfume
witnesses of the perfume
not itself
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for the Beloved to be more present
become more absent
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the world needs more than you as you
offer yourself to become a bottle
from which is poured out
the Love~Wine of the Beloved
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love not for yourself
love for Love
love as Love
better, just let Love do the loving
*
no one gives God
God gives God
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how can we be a mirror for others
in which they see their Beauty
unless we welcome them to be a mirror
in which we see our Beauty?
after all,
many mirrors
a single Beauty
*Brian Wilcox. 'Silence among the Smokies (no. 3)'. Flickr
*(C)Brian K. Wilcox, 2019
Brian's book, An Ache for Union: Oneness with God through Love, can be ordered from major booksellers online, including the publisher 1stBooks.
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