THE KNOWING

~ I ONCE HAD A THOUSAND DESIRES. BUT IN MY ONE DESIRE TO KNOW YOU, ALL ELSE MELTED AWAY. ~

- Rumi

“Can you tell me the name of the Creator?” the rock asked all passers-by.

Small and inconsequential, many feigned not to hear. Others merely had no answer to give. But still, the rock asked, longing to know.

Born millennia ago, the rock had started its life in the dark bowels of a mountain. Knowing naught of the universe, it was blind to the expanse outside. Until one day, the mountain burst open, in fierce eruption. And outshot the rock, flung so high it touched the immaculate midnight sky, ablaze with endless stars.

For that one fleeting moment, the rock was consumed by wondrous awakening. It longed to stay up there, amid the splendour. But soon it was falling, falling to the earth.

And there it lay. Ravaged by the elements for centuries, its physical form slowly eroded away. Soon it would be no more than a pebble.

It saw the changes of time, as glorious dawns followed seductive nights. The sound of children complaining about their elders grew, into the wails of adults bemoaning perceived insufficiencies. It felt the tears of rain washing away the fury of fire and heard stories carried by the wind.

And through it all, the rock looked upwards – engulfed by an unsatiated yearning to know and meet the Creator, who could once again lift him among the stars.