The Transitory Nature of Home
(We are Born to Die)
July 7, 2025
Story # 29
Written by
Bill Pautler
A
tombstone at Maple Hill for two sisters that were buried together.
'There is a flute, one end of which is between the lips
of God,
and the other end of the flute is in the heart of
man”
Rumi
For the Fourth of July weekend, I went to North Alabama
and stayed at a farm. I arrived after
dark, and my small abode was the top floor of a
metal barn with a small deck overlooking three ponds. There
were no visible fireworks Friday night, a few gunshots off in the distance
valley, and for the most part it was a very subdued peaceful environment.
When I woke Saturday morning, I looked out the window and
there was at least fifty geese working their way
through the farmyard. Feasting on seeds
and any bug that dared move. Throughout
my stay a beautiful blue heron fished along the pond’s edges and in the
evenings a muskrat playfully used the pond as her aquatic park. At nightfall a euphonic symphony of croaking frogs
deafened the silence. All of this allowed
my heart to drop into stillness.
The stillness deepened on Saturday as I drove into
Huntsville and visited 'Big Spring’ an ever-flowing natural cold water
spring used by the Chickasaw and Cherokee natives. Then I drove to the top of
the mountain and went to Monte Sano (Mountain of Health) State Park. Took in
the incredible vista, walked the Japanese Garden, and then wandered through the
old wooden Lodge built in 1939 by the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC). The CCC directed work relief projects during
the Great Depression under President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal agenda. This legislature was designed to provide
economic relief and recovery to the US nation. The CCC built 125,000 miles of roads and
trails, planted 3 billion trees, and established 3000 camps in state and
national parks. The pool in my hometown of Chester, IL was built under the New
Deal Act.
I mention all this because we often forget all the spirits that have come to this realm prior to us. All the work of their hands, the toil of their labor, and their physical life they gave to create a peaceful beautiful realm for us to enjoy.
Next, I visited Maple Hill Cemetery, which was
established in 1822. This 100-acre hilltop has approximately 100,000 burial plots. A 187 of the tombstones commemorate unknown
confederate soldiers. I found this particular angel monument touching, the willingness to
acknowledge the majesty of the Great Divine and the willingness to serve The
Great Unfolding, all while asking for Divine assistance.
My last stop was Annunciation of the Lord Catholic Church
in Decatur. I went in, prayed, and lit
a candle. A very animated woman in the church told me the miraculous story of
how this stained-glass window came to find it’s home in this Alabama chapel. What I
noticed in this window was: Mary’s
kneeling position, a posture of willingly receiving, Archangel Gabriel’s
delivery of Mary’s personal mission and the Divine Spirit being poured into
her.
Very similar to the Angel monument in the cemetery. Another depiction of our divine nature
choosing to bend to the will of the Great Unfolding, an acknowledgement of the
Divinity that resides in us and the continuous exhalation of life from the Creator
into us.
All of this, in combination with a handful of deeply beautiful
conversations throughout the holidays (Holy Days), allowed my heart to continue
to drop into a deeper stillness. As I rolled
into Birmingham and down 17th Street toward my apartment, I had a
peaceful surreal and deeply disconnected sense that this world is not my
home. Even though my surroundings were
familiar, this place did not feel like my home. It felt like a place I was visiting for an extended piece
of time.
We come into this world alone; we live for a while and
then we leave alone. We can sense that this is not our forever
home. But we commonly treat this world
like it is a game to win or a land to conquer.
This realm is just a sandbox, where we come to play and
create in the physicality. A place where we get to glory the view of a
sunset, experience the sensuality of holding someone's hand or enjoy the
feelings that are emoted in us by the sound of music.
In the stillness, in the quiet of our hearts, we can
sense the sacredness. The wholeness,
the holiness of ourselves, of each other, and all of
creation.
It is deeply important for us to remember and remind
ourselves that this is not our forever home.
We come into an earthly body, and we are going to leave this earthly
body. Earth is just a transitory train
stop on our eternal journey. We should
look for the sacredness in us and in every
moment. The sacredness in the stillness.
Yes, we each come with a unique purpose and personality. Yes, we are each here to experience Divinity
in a very interdependent and physical way.
Yes, we are each the Divine Spirit animating and manifesting a little
piece of the universe. Yes, the Divine Spirit is animating the All, and we are animating a little piece of the
All.
The Great Spirit that animates us is consciousness, life
and love; therefore, we are consciousness,
life and love.
In this world we are like little children playing in a
big, beautiful sandbox. We act like this is real, our forever home. We get fearful that someone is going to
acquire more sand than us or take our bucket away.
And we forget the beauty of play,
fun and creating.
Let’s continually remind ourselves of our Divinity, our
eternal nature, our creative powers and our deep essence of love that has no
conditions. We can operate out of that
heart space, because that is the core nature of our hearts. When we can acknowledge the ALL within us, we will
create heaven within us.
Live a SageLife.
Be a SAGE.
SAGE --- Spiritual
Awareness Growth &
Enlightenment
Namaste Bill
“Creation is the exhalation of God...
current runs from infinite to finite... from God to man... It is man's thought
which is the bridge to heaven.” Hazrat
Inayat Khan
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