Ocean Coast

Chapter Fourteen

As Jackie walked along the path, she felt a confidence she had never felt before in the forest under the black sky.  Claire had warned her to never be over confident, nor to ever think she knew something that the forest didn’t.  Claire had begun teaching Jackie about the ego, and how clever the ego would be in Jackie’s life.  But some lessons just can’t be taught, they must be lived and learned.  This night, Jackie would learn just how far her ego could take her.

Walking through the forest, Jackie felt a cool ocean breeze on her face.  She could smell the salt water in the air, an unmistakable crispness that one feels only at the ocean.  Jackie heard the cawing of sea gulls as she neared the vast opening in the forest.  She remembered all the trips she and her dad had taken to the beach.  Jackie’s dad was the astrological sign of cancer, a water sign.  He always felt most at home when he was at the ocean.  Jackie wondered if the ocean reaching shore at the forest would be anything like the Pacific Ocean she and her dad had visited so often.

As Jackie approached the end of the forest and the beginning of the ocean, she saw hundreds of sea gulls flying about.  There were white ones and brown ones like Jackie had seen before.  Then Jackie saw some sea gulls fly by that were red and some were blue.  When they flew together, they made a purplish cloud of feather in the moonlight.  When the water crashed into the rocks, a mist flew up into the air, catching the light of the moon and displaying the most beautiful silver rainbow Jackie had ever seen.  This definitely was not the same ocean beach Jackie had visited with her dad.  If it was possible for the ocean to be even more magnificent, it was here.

The color of the water was a dark green.  The crashing waves had an iridescent quality, almost like a glow of jade and turquoise.  Set against the backdrop of swirling sea gulls and silver mist, it was a sight to behold.  Jackie moved forward cautiously, not wanting to get too close to the water for fear of a huge wave swallowing her up and taking her out to sea.  As Jackie got about as close as she dare venture forward, a massive flock of the blue and red seagulls began to fly all around, enveloping her in a cloud that could only be described as mesmerizing.

“Thank you.  Thank you” Jackie spoke aloud to the birds, acknowledging the beauty which she felt so honored to behold.  In that moment, Jackie felt ever so special, as if she was one of the chosen ones.

“Why” she wondered, “am I so fortunate, to experience so many things?”

Just after finishing that thought, a massive wave came in and crashed right on top of Jackie.  She fell to the sandy ground on all fours, trying to find some stability while the mountain of water fell on top of her and drained back into the sea.  Jackie gasped for air as the deluge ceased.  She coughed violently as she had swallowed some of the salt water.  The wave had caught her by surprise, and left her shivering face down on the ground.  Her paradise had been lost.

“You are not special!.  You are not a chosen one!”  the thundering voice of the presence spoke with such a force the ground shook beneath Jackie.

“There are no chosen ones!  This is a myth that only the deranged believe.  Do not let your ego get the best of you Ms. Jackie.”

Jackie began to cry.  She understood instinctively what the presence was saying to her and remembered what her mother had forwarned.  This was a hard lesson to learn, for don’t we all want to think we are special.  Jackie had earned the benefit of visiting the forest and hearing directly from the presence.  Still, this would be a lesson that Jackie, as with us all, would have to learn over and over.  Jackie’s crying had subsided, and she began to lift herself off the ground.  There were some dry clothes lying next to her, and she changed as quickly as she could for she did not know what the presence might do next.

Next to Jackie’s clothes was an empty glass bottle.  Jackie picked up the bottle and looked at it intently.

“What is in the bottle?” the presence asked.

“Nothing that I can see” replied Jackie.

“Good.  Now go to the water’s edge and fill the bottle.”  The presence demanded.

Jackie, a bit shell shocked after the wave, just looked out at the ocean for a while.

“There will be no more big waves tonight” the presence reassured her, sensing Jackie’s fear.

Jackie no longer hesitated for she could sense the presence would be teaching her a powerful lesson.  She walked forward toward the ocean and came to the edge waiting for a wave to come in.  When a small wave lapped up onto the shore, Jackie put the bottle down toward the water, filled the bottle completely and sealed it with the metal top.

“Now Ms. Jackie, what is in the bottle?” the presence asked.

“Water, it is water that is in the bottle” Jackie replied.

“Now think before you answer this next question, is it water that is in the bottle, or is it the ocean that is in the bottle?”

Jackie thought about it for a while.  It seemed like a trick question.  What was the presence really asking?

“Both, in the bottle is both water and the ocean.  First it was the ocean.  Then when I put it in the bottle, it became water, but it is still ocean.  The water is the ocean, and the ocean is water.  It is the bottle that makes it feel different” Jackie finally answered, waiting as all school children do to hear if she got the answer right.

“Good Ms. Jackie.  What you have to understand is this is a powerful analogy for your human experience. While most people feel completely separate from each other, like the water in the bottle.  At the same time, you are all part of the same thing, like the ocean.  You experience the illusion of being separate, and yet you are not.”

Jackie had never heard anything like this before.  Her head was spinning.  It was one thing to learn about energy, but this was something completely different.  The presence had just given Jackie one of the most profound lessons one can receive.  The question was; could Jackie understand the impact this kind of information could have on her life.

“One last thing before you go Ms. Jackie” the presence spoke.

Jackie listened intently, awaiting the final important words of the presence.

“Yes, what is it?” she asked humbly.

The presence responded.  “There is nothing outside of the ocean, not even me.”