“So the unwanting soul sees what’s hidden, and the ever-wanting soul sees only what it wants.” ~ Lao Tzu

Some of us brave the world, others hide. Some get by with little effort, while their neighbors struggle to live. Despite this struggle…People affect the changes they wish to see in the world, yet they cannot affect a change within; in the delicate spaces where it should begin.. In the space where struggle may forever be abolished.This sphere is bold. It is the desire of the mind, without consent from the heart. It is why the world is a place of material wealth instead of soul. It is born in the glimmer of a diamond, and rests in the hand of a thief.

These are the truths of living as imparted by social contract. We are born into these various contracts without consent, without knowledge of them. Yet we abide. And though we do abide them, we go along with them, we accept them.. why do we allow struggle? Why do we shun the spirit in the face of the material world? Why do we live for the harvest, but have no time to learn of its planting?These questions beg an answer from all souls.. Shall we remain sheep, corralled in the fence by the shepherd of the world? Or shall we break the gate…

I often wonder who the first man or woman was who deemed an item valuable. Be it a jewel, seashell, rock or anything.. Who was the one to assign value and why? By necessity perhaps this was the way it began.. then from necessity came what? Want and desire I imagine.. Not for need, and not for growth.. but for mirrors, for pleasantry; for adornment of the flesh and for the sparkle of the eye. Along the way, we gave our adoration for the divine to the privacy of the heart.. all the while allowing the pleasure of the world to overcome our innate spiritual nature. This must change before a shift of consciousness may begin.

See the sparkle? Like the sparkle? Must you have the sparkle??? Please… realize there is no sparkle here.

Not many care for jewels.. I am one. They make the hand heavy.

I do not sit in want for gold.. I would rather happily waste my time with a pen or a brush.

My treasure is the love that I see in the tiny spaces of the world.. as it gives me hope for the human being.

I will not walk through a sphere of material, through a house of greed and wealth. For me, no object can be taken from here, and no amount of paper is worth anything without words of knowledge written upon it.

Be cautious in your endeavors. Are they for your sake, or for the forsaken? For the status or the prize? Or for the life within and around us all… A true endeavor begins in the heart, and will lead its own way to the goal.

I hope for the world to see how the treasure that we so often seek is nothing more than a construct of a twisted mind; A means to garner power and control, for selfish gain and dishonest trust. The true treasure rests within and around us all. It is alive in nature, it is alive in the love we share, the smile we wear, the generosity we show and the pains that we help to heal. It rests not in a wallet or in a bank account, nor does it exist in a flawless diamond worn on the finger.. Treasure does not exist in a sparkle.

One day, I hope we may all look upon a diamond and see nothing more than a collision of light, remarkable colors dancing together, refracted through a well cut prism.. and nothing more. When man realizes this, perhaps the beauty of all things will be revealed, and a true consciousness will once again root itself in harmony with all life.