The Parable Of Paul - Inspirational Story

This is a story I wrote,

A tale of a man named Paul.

Have you ever found yourself in a place of darkness,

Uncertainty,

Fog,

Or the unknown?

On your path in life,

Not knowing which way to go next?

You know that you can't go back to where you came from,

But you also feel as if you can't move forward because you feel lost.

This is how Paul felt,

And this is his story.

And may his journey help guide you on your path as well.

A young man Paul,

The age of 25,

Stood perplexed in the middle of a forest surrounded on all sides by giant redwoods.

Some people might see this as fortuitous,

Knowing that the redwoods are friends and can help if asked.

Some people.

This was not Paul,

However.

Looking forward,

He said,

If I could only see over these trees,

I would know which way to go.

Which direction should I go?

He stared and stared,

Yet no answer came.

The only thing that Paul could see were the obstacles in front of him.

He looked to the right.

He looked to the left.

And finally he looked behind himself,

A sense of dread rising up in his stomach like hot lava bubbling inside a volcano.

I have just come from the path behind me,

And that has led me nowhere.

What now?

He waited,

Trying to be still.

While his stomach turned and bubbled,

He waited for an answer.

In that moment,

Raven flew in and perched on a branch right above Paul's head.

Raven sat still,

Inspecting Paul,

To see if he would notice his arrival.

When Paul paid no attention,

Raven cawed loudly.

Caw!

Caw!

Paul,

Still,

Did not take notice.

The only sound Paul could hear was his heart pounding heavily in his chest,

And the only thought he could hear from his heart was,

How are we ever going to get out of this?

Again he waited,

And again no answer came.

The sun which had been overhead earlier now had begun to set,

And with it set the hopes of Paul ever finding his way out of this unimaginable giant forest.

The sun set in the west,

A clear ray of light beaming through the tree trunks.

Some people might have used this to help guide them in the right direction.

Some people,

But not Paul.

When Paul had set forth on his adventure just a few months before,

He believed that the path would open before him as he walked each day.

He apparently had been mistaken.

At least that was how he was feeling at this point.

He tried walking 20 more yards to the next set of trees,

Knowing the forest would soon grow dark and he would be unable to see what was right in front of him.

He decided to rest.

He plopped down discouraged,

His shoulders slumped forward with the heaviness of being weary and being lost.

A beautiful song began rolling through his head,

The sound of a flute fluttering upon his temples,

Calming him,

And this remembered tune lulled him to sleep.

He woke the next morning to the sound of an orange-crowned warbler singing in the trees and a squirrel at his feet rustling the browned pine needles foraging for food.

Paul sat up,

Head in hands,

And leaned against his knees.

A single tear rolled from his cheek.

I have but two things with me.

My hands to gather food to feed myself so I won't go hungry.

And my axe.

If I clear the trees from in front of me,

Maybe then I will find my way back to the path.

He made this statement speaking out loud into the quiet forest to reassure himself.

Paul did not know that the trees standing around him had also heard.

A gust of wind rushed quickly past Paul.

The trees who had been listening handed the message to the wind,

And the wind carried Paul's message to the raven flying overhead.

Raven believing that Paul would this time be ready to hear again flew down to where Paul was sitting.

Once again,

Raven cawed.

Caw!

Caw!

Caw!

For that is what Raven's words sound like to humans' ears.

In people language,

If Paul understood Raven's words,

He might have heard,

I can show you.

But Paul,

Only 25 and young in his days of life,

Could not hear the translation and did not know what Raven spoke.

In fact,

Paul only heard his mind speaking,

And his mind was saying,

Swing your axe,

Chop the trees,

Clear your path.

With these words rolling through his mind,

Paul could hear nothing else,

Chop,

Chop,

Chop.

Paul began swinging his axe day in and day out,

Making great progress in the task at hand.

Now the only thing Paul could hear was the chopping of his axe against the grain of the trees,

The echo ringing around him.

For you see,

He did not watch which direction the squirrels ran as they left the forest to gather their snacks.

He did not notice which way the wind blew the pine needles as they rolled out into the clearing of Paul's line of vision.

He did not notice which way the birds flew as they migrated into and out of the tall branches of the redwoods.

Paul had two things,

His hands to feed himself and his axe to clear the path.

The muscles in Paul's arms grew stronger,

His belly was full,

And his heart was healthy.

Paul decided there was nowhere else for him to go.

One tree down,

Two trees down,

Three trees down.

It took Paul one month to fell a tree,

Twelve trees down.

A year had passed and Paul had grown a beard.

He definitely felt older,

But not much wiser than when he had begun this process.

Paul stopped working and peered behind himself to see the progress he had made.

He was pleased at how he had been able to make it so far so quickly.

When he turned back around,

However,

He saw hundreds more redwoods staring back at him,

Unmoving,

Just staring.

Paul once again began speaking out loud,

I have grown strong.

I am alive and I am healthy.

He did not know who he was speaking to.

Could anything or anyone hear him?

He made a plea.

Oh Creator or Spirit or Tree,

Please send me help.

The wind,

Ever at the ready to assist,

Picked up Paul's words once again,

Whisked them high into the arms of the trees.

The redwoods,

Who bear many burdens of earth,

Also bore Paul's burdens.

This time,

They sent the words deep down through their roots,

Down into the soil of the earth.

The words resonated beneath the ground,

Humming.

Paul,

Weary from not knowing,

Sat down and leaned his back against the sturdy trunk of the nearest redwood.

As Paul sat there,

His eyes closed in a deep squint.

The lines of his forehead crinkled in thought.

A porcupine approached,

Quills down,

Unassuming,

And stopped at Paul's feet.

Monsieur Porcupine,

At least that's how the other forced animals referred to him,

Waited for Paul to open his eyes.

When Paul finally opened his eyes,

It was as if the dead pine needles of the forest,

Brown and piled in groups where they had fallen,

Blended against the shading of the porcupine.

Paul never even saw him.

Monsieur Porcupine,

Disturbed by Paul's rudeness,

Ambled on into the forest.

He was making his way back to the path.

As he left,

A brilliant light that reached the floor of the forest glinted off his spines,

Sparkling,

Shimmering,

And shining.

Paul rubbed his eyes,

Thinking himself sleepy,

And that maybe he had begun to see things that were not actually there.

He yawned,

Closed his eyes,

And decided to sleep for just a bit.

The porcupine could feel the roughness of the pine needles pushing against his belly.

Funny,

He thought.

I wonder that man was so rude.

He never even said hello to me.

And he moved off into the distance,

Feeling snubbed.

Paul,

Much more tired than he had imagined,

Slept soundly through the night.

He rose the next day and began chopping again.

One tree,

Two,

Three trees,

12 plus 12 more,

Until one day it was 288 trees.

Winter,

Spring,

Summer,

And fall passing,

And now Paul was 49.

And it had been 24 years since he began to clear his path.

On this day,

Paul states to himself,

I have been fed and sheltered.

I have walked many miles and felled many trees.

My path has been slow,

But I have made much progress,

For I am definitely farther than I was when I began.

The question again arose inside himself,

Except this time there were no tears.

He did not cry,

Nor did he feel worried.

He had accepted exactly where he was.

Dear spirit of the wind,

Hear my voice and carry my question to the trees who have housed me for this many years.

Gift the squirrels who have crossed my path these many years with food as they have always shared with me.

And may Raven be here to call in my ear as my friend.

Can you answer me this?

Why am I here?

Raven,

Hearing Paul's words,

Circled down from the sky perched upon the trunk of a tree Paul had recently chopped down and called,

Call,

Call.

This time when the Raven called,

Paul could hear his words.

I can help you,

Dear one.

Paul stopped,

Put his axe on the floor of the forest,

The needles pushing closer to the earth under the weight of the steel head as if they were happier to be closer together.

Why have you never spoken to me before,

Raven,

Paul asked bewildered.

I have come to you every year,

Paul,

And called to you.

Raven smirked at him knowingly,

Laughing as Ravens are apt to.

But I have never heard you before now.

Paul had a huge frown on his face,

His brow furrowed between his eyes,

The fold of skin crinkled and creased in disbelief.

I know you haven't,

Raven laughed.

But why can I hear you now,

Paul asked Raven?

You have begun to hear more than the chopping of your axe each day.

You hear the wind that whistles past your ears.

You see the squirrels that race past your feet.

You listen to the redwoods as you touch their bark,

As you feel them,

See them,

Hear them.

They too hear you,

Raven replied.

So Raven,

Why have you come to me this day?

What was your last request to the wind and the pine needles and the trees and the squirrels,

Asked Raven?

Well,

Um,

I asked,

Uh,

I asked,

Why am I here?

Paul stammered,

Sadness in his tone,

Resignation,

Shoulders drooping even farther forward than when he had held the heavy steel axe in his hands.

What was the question you asked each year for the last 24 years,

Raven asked Paul?

Well,

I would stand and look forward at all the trees still left in front of me.

Then I needed to chop and then I would look behind me at the progress I had made.

And I would ask,

Where is my path,

Paul said.

I can show you,

Raven cawed loudly.

How is this possible?

Doubt began to set into Paul's heart and deep anger rose from his belly.

Where were you all this time that I needed to know,

Paul yelled.

Raven rustled his feathers,

Nipped his wings with his beak,

Pecked at his feet and hopped around on the trunk of the tree.

He was unperturbed by Paul's anger.

As I told you before,

I came to you every year for the past 24 years,

Paul.

It is only now that you have been able to hear me,

Raven cocked his head sideways,

Peering at Paul.

But why now?

Why can I see you and hear you now?

Why did it take so long for me to understand you,

Paul grieved aloud.

Paul,

This is just how long it took.

No less time,

No more time.

Just that amount of time for you.

It is like asking the cedar waxwing why he migrates every year,

Raven said,

Turning his head side to side and clicking his tongue against his beak.

He followed the raven back through the forest of all the felled trees,

Leaving his axe behind where it had fallen atop the dried pine needles.

Raven flew ahead through the interwoven sky,

Clouds and branches.

The wind whistled slowly around Raven's wings,

Swoop,

Swoop,

Swooping.

The leaden dread that had been pitted in the bottom of Paul's stomach where he heard Raven's last words began to lighten as he walked back through the forest.

Three days it took to walk back the path of the fallen trees.

Three days of silence with only the sound of Raven's wings above him.

Three days of following Raven who no longer spoke for no words could fill Paul's heart.

Three days and Raven came to a stop on the branch of a nearby sequoia.

Her name is Tammeline,

Tammy for short,

Raven shared with Paul.

Raven and Tammy were old friends and today was no exception.

She welcomed Raven's perch upon her branch and Paul reached out to touch her and said,

Hello.

This looks familiar,

Paul pressed his words up to Raven.

It should,

This is where you first began your work 24 years ago,

Raven smirked.

And so it was,

Paul looked around wondering what they were doing there.

Why would Raven bring him back to such a painful place?

Isn't it enough he wasted the past 24 years and now Raven was going to rub it into his wounds like salt vinegar?

Raven sensed Paul's thoughts and spoke softly.

Paul,

I did not bring you here to rehash the past.

I brought you here because you asked me to bring you to your path,

Raven said kindly.

Well,

As kind as a Raven can.

So where is it then Paul inquired sensing a tingling on his arms and the back of his neck.

He began to cough roughly choking back tears and Raven spoke these words.

Underneath the Raven's gaze,

Tamlin holds this lovely space.

Growing just beneath your feet,

The needles thick could form a street.

Huh?

Paul said.

Look down,

Silly,

Cawed Raven.

Paul hesitated a moment.

He did not want it to be that easy.

He felt his stomach grow queasy.

He forced himself to slowly move his head downward until his eyes gazed at his feet.

The gaze moved past his feet onto the path.

He then turned his head left and saw the trail of pine needles making a path,

His path.

He had been standing on it all along.

Tears rose to his eyes.

So I have wasted the last twenty-four years of my life then?

Paul moaned to the Raven and to Tamlin who stood next to him.

Not at all.

You have eaten well,

Grown strong in your body and heart,

Persisted,

Not given up,

And finally learned to hear the natural world around you.

Now you are strong enough to continue on the path before you.

You could not see it because you were not ready,

Raven answered.

Paul wiped his eyes,

Lifted his head,

Smiled,

And began to walk the rest of his path.

Now he walked with the trees instead of against them.

When Paul found himself lost,

He did what was wise in the moment.

He stood still and did his work just where he was and began to pay attention to all the small things around him that held meaning.

Through his attention to these things,

He began to hear,

See,

Feel,

And smell the world around him and learned his connection with that place.

That is what helped move him forward on his path.

Darkness can be scary at times,

But remember that you are never alone in that place.

We have all shared moments of uncertainty,

Loss,

Anxiety,

And panic.

May your journey and path always be blessed by all the connections that surround you,

Both seen and unseen.

And may peace always fill your heart.

Thank you for joining me on this journey with Paul.