Alo and De Choices #39
(PD) Alo and De Lake on Land.
Copyright ©2018 October 14, 2018
Jun: I had almost forgotten what loneliness feels like... a year of marriage, this is the first time Yan and I will not fall asleep together...
De: Two days' walk there, one day to survey the land, two more days to arrive home... it is also mine and Alo's first day to be separated since marriage...
Jun: Appreciation... when they come home, we will appreciate them more...
De: Yes, and that is a good emotion, one that is creative... it does deepen harmony.
Jun: The choices have not been easy... but, most everyone in the community has been supportive... about a quarter of us move to the new land first... others will follow in future days... but, like Yan has said, the new land will offer us a buffer zone between us and the approaching outsiders... seeing the outsiders' houses on the north mountain... the people are too close already.
De: Alo... he is changing again...
Jun: Quieter... more of heart... yes... I have noticed...
De: He is letting-go of many of the old stresses... we expect the new land, to be, where we can begin...
Jun: It is not easy to walk away from our lives here... our homes, gardens, neighbors, familiar surroundings... but, I believe the choice is correct... Yan, and me, our harmony continues to deepen, but, if the outsiders get too close, then the harmony will be harmed... so, no... no reason to stay here. Oh, and I wanted to tell you, that I finally recognized some of the ingredients of why I have felt lonely...
De: Shhh... please be careful with your words... to you and I, we can speak freely to the other, without concern of how our words might be received, but if you permit the outsiders to hear the words, then the outsiders will use it as a weapon... the outsiders always turn good things into bad things... outsiders would use the knowledge to know how to hurt us the worst.
Jun: Oh, that is surely true... and... yes, if they knew this, then they would attack... it is their nature... an aggressive and unthinking people.
De: It is a smart thing to do, to know one's environment, and to know when it is time to move...
Jun: To me it almost feels like we will be migrating, perhaps somewhat like our ancestors did... they knew when to go.
De: But here, it is of a different choice... the purpose is different... the purpose, is harmony... to continue creativity.
Jun: My heart is happy that we are continuing father's way... caring for others... making choices today, for future people.
De: It sounds so simple... so creative... and yet it can be so fragile... one outsider's negative behavior could destroy generations of effort. The choice, is not for us... it is for others.
Jun: The new land... maybe a hundred years... maybe two-hundred... before the outsiders again begin to approach... but what then? I found no suitable lands... Yan found none that are suitable. Antarctica? Oh I wish! If only it were possible to grow a garden there...
De: Ha! I have had similar imaginations...
Jun: Yan has spoken of the good people to the west... we wondered if it might be possible to choose a very remote region, one that is beyond easy approach by outsiders... we would need to learn the nearby languages, but, it would be a good learning.
De: It has been said that our distant cousins came here, for a similar reason... to live in peace... but now, maybe, it is time to go back home.
Jun: The season has changed... migrate back home... ha! A very long season!
De: Ha! But interesting also...
Jun: My heart, and mind, often I dwell on my life, of when before I married Yan... I made mistakes, yes, but I had also made a choice, to not accept just any husband. I now look back on my choice, and I am pleased... it was a good choice, one that today has avoided regrets. One, just one good choice, for me, was all that I needed to now be happy, and walking a good path...
De: Without the choice, what path do you suspect you might be walking?
Jun: A bad one... regrets, unhappy memories... depressed emotions... still hungry for a husband... I could not now know harmony... just one choice, only one good choice... I am amazed at myself that one good choice was all that was needed... everything else followed.
De: Alo often speaks of choices... it is easy to choose a choice, not often easy to follow the choice...
Jun: True... many times I felt weak of determination... I seriously considered letting-go of my choice... but now, looking back, now I know that even if I had not married Yan, still, in my last days, I would still appreciate my having made the right choice... today, I could now die, alone, and not regret the choice.
De: 'Morning hear dao, evening die able'... 'Morning hear dao, evening die certain, complete'... one correct choice chosen at dawn, the individual can then pass at dusk, feeling, knowing, comforted, at ease, with peace, that he is correctly walking the correct dao...
Jun: ...I was about to make a wisecrack of how your words sound as Alo's, but, the words are true... I made the right choice, the correct choice... I found harmony... and now, if I were to pass at sunset, I would pass knowing and at ease that I had been walking the correct path... the old words, are valid.
De: It is interesting to me, that the old words do not speak of anything new, but I am a lot like Alo... I find the ancient words' music to be pleasing, and worthy of hearing.
Jun: I am amused with myself... the words, regardless of worthiness and correctness, still they do not hold the meaning as understood by an individual who has experienced the thing firsthand... knowledge of words, not the same as understanding of one's own life... the choices, one is from outside, another is from inside... the meanings, not same... choices, not same.
De: Yes...