As they wakened, they felt the warm air brushing against their bare skin, the tickle of grasses that made up their sheltering bed coaxing them to wakefulness. In the trees and underbrush around them, the sound of birds laying claim to their territories added a sense of music to the joyous beginnings of the new day. He stood and then reached for her hand, drawing her up to join him in the beginning of this first day of all the days to come. They were watched, without fear, by the other beings who lived in this beautiful place. At their feet a small furry rabbit pushed through those same grasses that had touched them as they stirred restlessly and on the edge of the small meadow wherein their soft grass bed was located, another being with grey-brown hair on its body and hard bone protruding from it's head stepped out from the shadows of the woods and into the sunshine. It's large brown eyes were peaceful and without fear as it walked up to them, reaching out to nuzzle their hands as it sought to taste the slight saltiness of their palms. They touched its soft fur, ran their hands over its horns, marvelling at the softness and the hardness of it. And the birds sang for them as they rejoiced, one and all, in the glory of this new world.
There is only one thing that can be counted on consistently and that is that everything changes. And so it was, that out of their own actions, the world changed and the first death came to that peaceful place and the other beings that once shared their joyfulness, became afraid and learned to hide. And the world became a place of misery and darkness, hunger and pain, sorrow and fear. The centuries pass, one by one, a day at a time. Each day filled with anguish as it's whole, but with tiny points of lightness to keep the flame of hope alive. Every point of light pointing to the next sign post, each one drawing the people along the hard road that had become their lot, with the hope and belief that one day, there will come that time of great renewal and the world will once again be filled with rejoicing. And in that day, death will become a memory, and the lion will lay down with the lamb and peace will again reign as the people and the creatures walk together again with no fear. And when the people remember the dark age that came before this new time of peace, they will ask themselves, if we knew what first was and looked forward to that coming again, and if we knew that it was our own actions that caused death to come into the world, why then did we spend all those generations indulging in and excusing and using, the evil that was the result of our own actions, all the while mourning for what was lost?
*Motive is everything. Objectives determine outcomes. Life proceeds out of your intention. Your true intention is revealed in your actions, and your actions are determined by your true intention. As with everything in life (and in life itself), it is a circle.*
So I ask you, what are the true objectives that are determining the current outcomes of suffering and torment that lays like a filthy rag across the surface of this planet? There is an ongoing weeping and crying out for "peace, peace, where is the love" but instead of the world finding these things, there is only continual sorrow for men, women, children and most creatures of this world. When the actions of man are considered with honesty, our true intentions are revealed and our objectives are laid bare in the light of day and going by what we see, there is no desire for a return to Paradise lost and the Kinship that went with it especially as the decision to match ones actions to ones desire for (a loving and safe and joyous world), might mean that we have to begin respecting the rights of everything to live without pain or torment, just as we would hope to live.
To live in this world, but to not be of it, is an objective. When we pray for Godliness in the hopes that we will be uplifted, and yet justify the pain and death that sin causes in this world, by pointing to tradition or habit, then how can we feel a true inner peace when we are practitioners of violence. That first death to cover nakedness was not permission to do more harm, but should have been taken as an example of what our selfishness and lack of thought had caused. Every sacrifice a picture of what those actions had wrought. Each of us must begin to live as though we individually do live in that world which first was, and as the numbers of gentle souls grows, so too will 'heaven' spread across the face of the globe. And by our examples, we will show the world the Creator as the source of love and life and one by one, more will be drawn to that joy.
*Taken from Conversations With God by Neale Donald Walsch*
