For it may be that you come into the forest
That you will see about you the mightiness of the great oaks,
or the tallness of the pine trees ~
Or that you will cast your eye upon the beauty of many others
of those splendid trees which groweth in the forest;

And it may be that as you pass among them
your clothing may be torn with thorns,
or that you may be stung by the nettles;
Or that your foot may be tripped by the roots.

Thus it is that you keep your eye alert and that you wait,
That you will see the shafts of Light which permeate and
which come down from the Heavens above.
And in the branches of the trees you will see the nesting of birds;
Among these trees you will see the flowers growing shyly.

So is your pathway in life, that ye may be tripped
by the roots of others selfishness
Or ye may be stung by the nettles from lips
which have uttered harsh words
Or that your clothing may be torn by the thorns of unkindness.

But ever it must be – that we must keep our eye aloft
And gaze into the time and the space where the
Radiance of God’s Love always permeates
through the whispering branches;

And in the song of the birds we shall hear the song
of the promise of this Eternal Life,
And in the beauty of the flowers about us will speak
the Word of His Divine Creation ~

That there surely shall be none among us
who shall become faint and weary,
So that we may know of other pathways
from this place on.

For the garden of the earth is but one of the many gardens,
And the forests of the earth but one of many forests;
Its mountains are like the mountains of countless other earths
And its sunshine is like the sunshine of other mighty suns
And so thou shalt waiteth not.

Neither shalt thou hasten, but listen only for the Voice.
See only with the Spiritual eye which discerns the Spirit
Then surely will thy footsteps be led always into that pathway
Where there are no thorns nor nettles, nor roots to trip thee
And blessed will be the day of thy Eternity.

by Ernest L. Norman

Excerpt from The Anthenium