The Lost Little Fish
There once was a little fish that swam in the ocean. She felt lost.
She went to her grandmother and asked her, "Grandmother, where is the ocean?"
Grandmother responded, "You are in it."
Confused, the little fish asked, "I don't think so Grandmother. This is just water."
And she swam away continue to look for the ocean.
~paraphrased from a story by Anthony Demello in Song of the Bird
If you are one of those people who is on the search for God, try this story on: you are in it. You are knee-deep immersed in what you are looking for. Take a look around; the bud poking out on the branch; the tea boiling on your stove; the smell of baked apples coming from the kitchen; the warmth of the hug you received from your child this morning. What we consider mundane is sacred.
There is nothing to look for, nothing to go after, nothing to find. There is only receiving what is already around you. This is why our ancient ancestors named the soul or spirit synonymously with the breath or wind. Begin by receiving the sacredness of life with your breath. We wouldn't be here without it, right? Then slowly, with practice and attention, the breath will naturally lead you to the understanding that you are 100% immersed in the sacred. This is not something that the rational aspects of ourselves will tell us. But the heart, the more you listen to it, will tell you to stop the search, the manhunt for the soul. It will tell us simply to receive the holy breath within and around you.
Grandmother fish tells us that we are in the ocean. What a relief. We have nothing to look for.
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