Dialogues of Nodin and William
Ceron #20
(PD) Ceron
Copyright ©2019 - May 12, 2019
Hidden, if unknown,
Cannot hide self,
Obvious, if known.
William: Yes, of course, Adalii and I are immensely honored, but we are, obviously, nervous, and we do not understand why we have been invited.
Nodin: The temple dwellers wish to learn from what you have learned. When we are there, you will understand.
Adalii: Adanata, Meda, Alo, Daksi, and the others, they will also be there?
Nodin: Yes, and another, who is special in our eyes. We will meet in the hall that is located outside of the temple's walls, so that the children and others within the temple will not be distracted.
Adalii: I apologize, but I must decline the invitation; I am not suitable for their presence; I have nothing to wear.
William: Adalii, they are good people, they do not hold themselves above others, nor judge a person by their wealth. Besides, your dresses and robes are as fine of quality as those worn by Adanata and Meda.
Adalii: My husband, you do not know, do you? You might feel the heart, but I have eyes, ears, and a nose, and I know what you have not yet perceived. My eyes describe to me that the temple's ladies wear a different fashion of clothing than what we saw; the tan-lines and skin abrasions were formed from years of wearing something different than a nun's robe. And their voices, so articulate and alive, not dulled with the following of man's philosophies, and their scents, within the scents are descriptions of foods, fabrics, dyes, gardens, soils, potions, soaps, and many more aromas that speak of a lifestyle far removed from that of common monks and nuns, or anyone else that we know.
Nodin: (laughing)
Adalii: And you, mister Nodin, not once have I yet heard a word from you or William about your own relationship with the temple people. Perhaps William has not yet discovered his senses, but I have known from our first meeting that you are not the sole wanderer as you give the appearance. The scent of your wife is as strong and embedded as your own, and her scent mirrors that of the temple ladies'.
Nodin (laughing harder)
William: ...
Adalii: As Adanata spoke, the man walks forward, the female walks backwards, and we perceive by which direction we approach... then, the manner of each perception has for itself its own direction of reception... it is wrong to pry into anyone's life, but the eyes, ears, and nose, some things are as open for perception as are the sun and stars... William, the ladies wear clothing of fabrics that are not similar to my own clothing, and I am ashamed; I am unable to present myself with the proper respect of proper dress.
William: ...
Nodin: (spoken with laughter and jest) Ah, the love for a woman; equal is the love of solitude in a deserted field, a few strides beyond the wife's voice.
William: ...
Nodin: Adalii, your talents - as well as your outspoken interpretations - are a delight, and among the reasons why you and William have been invited. Your voice, even when spoken with the greatest of bluntness that you are capable, still your voice rings of caring, of gentleness, of a quality that is rare, and the temple people wish to be in your presence, as you are now. Your heart is all that is important, for you wear your heart with an elegance far superior to what any fabric might offer. To a lady who yearns for her own heart to be pure, though she might wear a queen's gown, still, she will feel to be with soiled rags as compared to your heart.
Adalii: And now I feel more hesitant, for if what you say is true, then surely I would be more uncomfortable in any setting where I am looked upon with favor.
William: (laughing) A woman's logic; the deserted field...
Nodin: Adalii, you do know that the ladies are kind, respectful, courteous, and loving towards all things. Do you not believe that they will treat you with similar affection? If a woman, or a man, is of quality, then they will respect and honor you regardless of your clothing or your talents. Are not the temple's ladies of quality?
Adalii: Yes, I am confident that that is so, and, yes, mister Nodin, I will agree to accompany you and William, but only because you have asked, and my heart wishes to do that which is proper and beneficial, including for those of whom we will meet.
Nodin: Then let us go, now.
~~~~~~~~~~
Adalii: Nodin, this garden, and which I assume are the hall's doors before us, is the garden of a special importance?
Nodin: Except for the experience of having left the temple's walls, to sit, or to chat within a peaceful environment that is different than the norm, to be used as a contrast to the temple dwellers' common life, no, it is not special, or at least it is no more special than anything else in Nature.
Adalii: Then it is very special.
Nodin: {smiles} Yes.
William: The trees and shrubs well hide the hall's walls, but here, at a closeness, the hall is seen to be much larger than I assumed. But still, the stone and stucco exterior, though the hall is sizable, still the hall appears to be of a normal architecture, and the weighing of architecture to that of fine clothing does not seem to balance well.
Nodin: Once inside, you will understand.
{The hall is rectangular, of about ten by sixty strides in width and length, the vaulted ceiling is twice as tall as the wall's width, all surfaces and furnishings are ornately carved, of blues, whites, and golds. Near the end of the hall are two high-backed seats of honor which are of extravagantly carved woods with linen coverings plushly-filled for comfort, and the chairs are placed near the other facing towards the hall's length. The hall contains no paintings, sculptures, nor any other form of visual art aside from the ornamental. William and Adalii are seated in the seats of honor. Twelve residents stand near the walls, as Meda and her five-year-old son, Ceron, stand about two strides forward of William and Adalii. Nodin speaks gently as he stands to the left of William and Adalii.}
Nodin: My friends, most of you have already met Adalii and William. Thank you for your presence, and ours; thank you. {Nodin steps off further to the side.}
Meda: Ceron, William and Adalii are your friends, they are all of our friends, and they wish to share, to be present, so that you might learn, and us too.
Ceron: Okay.
Meda: It is our wish for you, Ceron, that you perceive the hearts of William and Adalii, but please remember to not perceive beyond two divisions. Adalii and William have granted their permission, and desire, for you to perceive their hearts, and we believe that you will find value in what you perceive.
Ceron: But it is impolite to feel people's hearts, and I do not want to break my promise to never pry into anyone's life without there being a very important reason.
Meda: Thank you Ceron, for being such a man; my heart is proud and happy for you; you have honored my life with your presence, and my love for you grows ever stronger. Yes, there is a very important reason for you to touch Adalii's and William's hearts, and the reason is that of my love for you - all of our love for you - that we wish for you to know a different kind of love than our own.
Ceron: Okay, I will do it, but only because you ask me to, and only because William and Adalii want me to. I will do this for you.
Meda: Thank you Ceron. Please, as you perceive their hearts, please describe with words what you perceive, so that Adalii and William will know.
Ceron: Okay. The aromas have a lot of similarities, so Adalii and William eat the same foods at the same time, so they spend a lot of time together. Adalii's scent is part not her own, it is part William's, and William's is part Adalii's, so they are connected in life. Adalii's heart radiates for William, and for all things too, including me, and she honors you mommy; a lot, it is strong. William's heart, radiates for Adalii, and he feels awe for you mommy, and he believes that Adalii will become as you. They are now both embarrassed for their loving you; that is very nice, I like their hearts. Their love, there is a hardness, their lives have been hard, their love, oh, it is hard for me to describe, it is, they chose love, they chose, yes, the love is based on choice and effort. They have walked through a hardness, and here they are, very nice people. I had not felt anything like this before.
Meda: And this, what you felt, it is only the surface?
Ceron: Yes. There is much more, but I stopped at two divisions.
Meda: The embarrassment of William and Adalii, they chose to endure the temporary discomfort, so that you might learn. They love you, they sacrificed for you, as we all sacrifice for each other, so that we all might be bettered.
Ceron: ...
Meda: Is there anything else that you wish to say for now?
Ceron: Well, the dinner they ate yesterday at high-sun, it smells delicious. Can we eat the same thing today?
Meda: {laughs} Yes, of course.
~~~~~~~~~~
Nodin: Now that we have left the hall, the garden does indeed seem special.
Adalii: Reflection? Contrasts?
Nodin: Yes, it is now much more beautiful to me, for now it is more closely connected to our enjoyment of good people, and Ceron. Forever in my mind will the garden now be connected with Ceron, and you two.
William: Ceron is so polite. I trust that he will truly grow to become a remarkable man.
Nodin: His time is approaching quickly; his future, is ours, and you, William and Adalii, just changed Ceron's future.
Adalii: Then by how we change Nature, so then does Nature change us, like wife and husband.
Nodin: Yes, Nature is always reciprocal.
Adalii: Then I wish to create.
William: Nodin, though Adalii knew, you did not warn us, we were not prepared. From the outside the temple appears to be but one of the many religious retreats found in all regions of the world, but within the hall, I had never seen such craftsmanship. I expected religious or philosophical art and furnishings, but instead the artwork was the craftsmanship itself. A dozen men working fulltime would require years of labor to build such elegance, within the hall alone; I can only image what the temple itself must be like.
Nodin: Judging a man's inward nature by his outward appearances?
William: Metaphors; but indeed the metaphors do speak more clearly than direct words.
Adalii: My suspicions proved true; the temple dwellers wore a style that is as if a blend of both modern and baroque, of an elegance that is delightfully considerate of others. And so the modest clothing worn by Meda and Adanata in public, their choice of clothing was to not draw undue attention?
Nodin: Correct.
Adalii: {laughs} And I am now suspecting that the people dressed differently than normal for us today...
Nodin: That is also correct.
William: But, if, the temple dwellers do not follow a religion, nor an established philosophy, then if I am interpreting it correctly, they are developing their own culture, willfully and mindfully. Am I close?
Nodin: Yes. If man's thousands of beliefs have not yet created a sensible culture, nor a standard of behavior suitable for the majority of man, then if a thinking man wishes to live in a sensible environment, then he must do so alone, or create one with the help of others of his kind. Your world is unfit for any healthy child, and detrimental to all minds. If a child is intelligent, then the child must be protected from your world. Is Ceron equal to the children of your world?
William: No, he is superior, superior of mind, manners, and perception.
Nodin: Are the temple dwellers equal to the citizens of your world?
William: No, they are superior.
Nodin: In your world, your culture speaks of equality, not as a respect for all people, but that of forcing the superior to become equal to the most inferior. In your world Ceron would be hated, for his intelligence as well as the color of his skin, and his being a male who will marry a female. The other temple children, who are as Ceron, would also suffer similar fates in your world. Your world destroys all hope of a natural healthy childhood, and no thinking parent would willingly subject their child to your world's culture.
William: Then that explains why there is no visual evidence of historical influences within the hall; the inhabitants' philosophy is their own, and not evolved from popular beliefs. But Nodin, is not Alo's, Daksi's, and your own manner of meditation based upon the method given by eastern philosophies?
Nodin: No. The outward appearances may appear similar, but the cause, the inward reasons, are different. The manner of meditation that you have witnessed, it is self-created, self-observed, self-rationalized, self-evolved, and as you too have exerted your own effort to find your own path, never is the meditation an act of following another's teachings. And how many ignorant individuals did you see in the hall?
William: None, for indeed all of their eyes were wide with conscious awareness and intelligent thought; none exhibited a symptom of dullness.
Nodin: And if the individuals are not dull, then why could it be believed that they would follow a dull teaching?
William: And I am brought full circle back to my first day of having knocked on your door; none of what I have learned arrived from another man's teachings, nor from any philosophy of man, and, now I am more curious than before, that upon my having achieved a goal, I find myself starting all over; the goal has no end.
Nodin: True; this then is your first cycle; all things are cyclic, all things have an end and a beginning, even goals.
William: {laughing} Then I now have much more to ponder.
~~~~~~~~~~
Ceron: Everyone has now left except us, and mommy, I'm sorry, please forgive me, I accidentally perceived more about Adalii and William than I wanted. I did not divide by more than two layers, but each layer was so thick with events.
Meda: I know, and it is okay. Their souls, their hearts, there are so many composing elements, we cannot perceive one without perceiving the other.
Ceron: I felt that it would harm William and Adalii if I told them everything. Did I make the right choice?
Meda: Yes my little man, your heart walked first, you cared more for the welfare of Adalii and William than for your own words, and that shows me that your heart and mind are correct.
Ceron: Within my own future, about three of my ages from now, I feel the presence of Adalii at a distance, she is known, the people know her...
Meda: Why are you crying?
Ceron: You know; I am happy for Adalii, and William too. Thank you mommy, I have never felt so much love and happiness before. My heart cries with both sadness and happiness.
Meda: And now you know what my heart feels for you.
Ceron: Thank you for loving me, and thank you for allowing me to learn from Adalii and William. And please tell me again why I am not allowed to help William. Just one touch, and his life would be with Adalii's.
Meda: We each make our own choices, and you and I must honor those choices, the choices of others' are not ours to make. If William should ask for help, then it would be acceptable to help, but if a person does not ask, then we must not interfere, not even by telling the person which choices are available.
Ceron: It is hard, but yes you are right. If I changed the present, it would change Adalii's future.
Meda: Hers is a good soul, and her future is made possible by William's choices of today's. William's sacrifice will better the world, through Adalii.
Ceron: It is not the man who changes the world, but it is the world changing by what the man did.
Meda: You are very wise for such a young age; yes, a man may never see what his heart created, and the world will give credit to someone else, but you and I, we know from where the origins began.