Sara, Book 1 (16 page)
S
ara found herself standing in some strange thicket, surrounded by beautiful spring flowers, with bright-colored birds and butterflies flying all around her.
Well, Sara, it seems that you have much to talk about today,
Solomon quipped.
“Solomon!” Sara shouted with glee. “Solomon, you’re not dead, you’re not dead! Oh, Solomon, I’m so glad to see you!”
Sara, why are you so surprised? I told you there is no death.
Now, Sara, what is it you want to talk about?
Solomon offered calmly, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
“Solomon, I know that you said that there is no such thing as death, but you looked dead. You felt limp and heavy, your eyes were shut, and you weren’t breathing.”
Well, Sara, you just became used to seeing Solomon in a certain way. But now you have an opportunity—because your wanting is so much greater than ever before—to see Solomon in a broader way. A more universal way.
“What do you mean?”
Well, most people see things only through their physical eyes, but you now have the opportunity to see things through broader eyes—more through the eyes of the true Sara that lives within the physical Sara.
“You mean there is another Sara living inside of me, like you’re the Solomon who lives inside of my Solomon?”
Yes, Sara, that’s it. And that Inner Sara lives on forever and ever. That Inner Sara will never die, just as this Inner Solomon that you see here will never die.
“Well, that sounds very good to me, Solomon. Will I see you back on Thacker’s trail tomorrow?”
No, Sara, I will not be there.
Sara frowned.
But think about it, Sara! Whenever you wish to chat with Solomon, you may. No matter where you are. You don’t have to walk to the thicket anymore. You have only to think of Solomon— and remember what it feels like to visit with Solomon—and I’ll be right here to visit with you.
“Well, that sounds okay, Solomon. But I’ve loved our visits in the thicket. Are you sure you wouldn’t just as soon go back there, like before?”
Sara, you’ll come to like our new way of interacting even more than you have loved our fun in the thicket. There is no limitation in our new way of interacting. You’ll see. We’ll have great fun.
“Okay, Solomon. I believe you.”
Good night, Sara.
“Solomon!” Sara cried out, not wanting Solomon to leave her so soon.
Yes, Sara?
“Thank you for not being dead.”
Good night, Sara. All is well.
PART II
The Happily Forever Afterlife
of Sara and Solomon
“S
olomon, aren’t you mad at Jason and Billy for shooting you?”
Why, Sara? Why would I want to be mad at them?
“Well, Solomon, they shot you!” Sara replied in amazement. How could Solomon not understand her question, and how could he not be mad at them for doing something so awful?
No, Sara. Whenever I think of Jason and Billy, I just appreciate them for bringing you to me.
“But Solomon, don’t you think that shooting you is more significant than that?”
Sara, the only thing that is significant is that I feel good. And I cannot feel anger toward them and feel good at the same time.
Keeping my valve open is most significant, Sara—so I
always choose thoughts that feel good.
“Solomon, wait a minute. Are you saying that no matter how bad someone is, and no matter what sorts of awful things they do, you do not think about those things? That nobody ever does anything bad enough to make you mad at them?”
Sara, they all mean well.
“Oh, Solomon, come on. They shot you! How bad does it have to get before you understand how bad that is?”
Sara, let me ask you some questions. Do you think that if I got really, really mad at Jason and Billy for shooting me that they would stop shooting things?
Sara was quiet. She didn’t think that Solomon’s anger would make any difference. She had been angry at the boys countless times for shooting things, and it had never even slowed them down.
“No, Solomon. I guess not.”
Can you think of any purpose that my anger would serve?
Sara thought about that, too.
If I became angry at them, it might make you feel more justified in your anger, Sara, but then I would only be joining your chain-of-pain, and no good could come from that.
“But, Solomon,” Sara protested, “it just seems like—”
Sara,
Solomon interrupted,
we could talk all day and all night about which actions are right and which actions are wrong. You could spend the rest of your lifetime trying to sort out which behaviors are appropriate and which are not, and under which conditions they are appropriate and under which conditions they are not appropriate. But what I have learned is that any time, even if it’s one minute, that is spent trying to justify why I feel bad, is wasted life. And I have also learned that the faster I can get to a place of feeling good, the better my life is—and the more I have to offer to others.
So, through lots of living and lots of experiencing, I have come to know that I can choose thoughts that close my valve or I can choose thoughts that open my valve—but in every case, it’s
my
choice. And so I gave up blaming the Jasons and Billys long ago, because it didn’t help me—and it didn’t help them.
Sara was quiet. She was going to have to think about this one. She had already decided that she would
never
forgive Jason for this terrible deed, and here Solomon was, unwilling to join her, even one little bit, in her blame.
Remember, Sara, if you let the conditions that
surround you control the way you feel, you will always be
trapped. But when you’re able to control the way you
feel—because you control the thoughts you offer—then
you’re truly liberated.
Sara remembered hearing something like that from Solomon before, but then, nothing this big was challenging them. Somehow this seemed too big to forgive.
Sara, in this big world where so many people have different ideas of what is right and wrong, you will often be faced with witnessing behavior that you may feel is inappropriate. Are you going to demand that all of those people change their ways just to please you? Would you want to do that, even if you could?
The idea of everyone behaving in a way that would please her did appeal to Sara in some ways, but she truly didn’t think that that was a likely thing. “Well, no, I guess not.”
Then what is the alternative? Will you hide yourself away, shielding yourself from witnessing their diverse behavior, making yourself a prisoner in this beautiful world?
Well, that option was really not to her liking, but Sara recognized remnants of that behavior in her not-so-distant past, as she often, mentally, had withdrawn from others, crawling into her own mind, keeping all or most of them outside.
Those weren’t happy times,
Sara remembered.
Sara, you will experience such joy when you’re able to
keep your valve open, anyway. When you’re able to
acknowledge that many people are choosing different
things; they believe differently; they want differently;
they act differently, and when you understand that all of
that adds to a more perfect whole, and that none of that
threatens you—because the only thing that affects you is
what you’re doing with your own valve—then you move
about freely and joyously.
“But Solomon, Jason and Billy did more than threaten you. They shot you. They killed you!”
Sara, you’re still not over that, are you? Can you not see that I am not dead? Sara, I am very much alive. Did you think that I would want to live in that tired, old body of an owl forever?
Sara knew that Solomon was teasing her, because he was neither tired-seeming or old.
It is with great joy that I released that physical body, knowing that whenever I want to, I can pour my Energy into another, younger, stronger, faster one.
“You mean, you wanted them to shoot you?”
It’s co-creation, Sara. That’s why I let them see me. So that they could co-create this very important experience. Not only for me, but for you, too, Sara.
Sara had been so overwhelmed with all that had happened since Solomon’s shooting that she had not had time to wonder how it was that Jason and Billy were able to see Solomon.
The important thing to understand, Sara, is, first:
All is truly well, no matter how it may seem to you from
your physical perspective. And second, whenever your
valve is open, only good things can come to you.
Sara, try to appreciate Jason and Billy as I do. You will feel much better.
When pigs fly,
Sara thought. And then she laughed at her own negative response. “I’ll think about it, for you. But this is so different from anything I’ve ever thought about before. I’ve always been taught that when someone does something wrong, they should be punished.”
The problem with that, Sara, is that all of you have a difficult time deciding who gets to decide what is wrong. Most of you believe that
you
are right; therefore, they must be wrong. Physical beings have been killing each other for years, arguing about that one. And with wars and killings that have been taking place on your planet for thousands of years, you still have come to no agreement.
You would all be much better off if you would just pay attention to your own valves. Life would be much better, right away.
“Do you think people will be able to learn about their valves? Do you think everyone will learn that?” Sara felt overwhelmed with the enormity of this endeavor.
That doesn’t matter, Sara. For the only thing that matters to you, is that
you
learn it.
Well, that didn’t seem so big. “Okay, Solomon, I’ll work on this some more.”
Good night, Sara. I have enjoyed our visit immensely.
“Me, too, Solomon. Good night.”
J
ason and Billy sped by Sara on their bicycles, calling out something obnoxious and inaudible. Sara smiled as they passed her by, and then she felt a little bit of surprise as she realized that they would disappoint her if they failed to be as bad as they could be, and that, in some strange way, the three of them were co-creators in this game they were always playing together. The game of “I’m your rotten little brother, and this is my obnoxious, rotten little friend, and our task is to make your life miserable in every way we can, and your job is to respond to us in misery.”
This is weird,
Sara thought.
I’m not supposed to enjoy them. Whatever could be happening here?