You are the water…

A wave feels turmoil. “I am going up and down all of the time…tired of up and down. I yearn to find groundedness, refuge.”

Refuge for the wave is water. The wave is searching for an end to being blown around by the ocean.

One day, she realizes that she is water. She is the water. She is the ocean.

And she no longer looks outside herself. She is no longer afraid of going up and down.

We can remember we are the Ultimate Reality. We are God. We are Allah. Just as the wave realizes she is water.

You are a wave. You are so afraid of going up and down. You are searching for something solid, safe, long lasting. Imagine we are waves looking for water. You don’t have to look for water if you are waves.

Go home to yourself. The Ultimate, refuge…it is right inside of us. It can be called Buddhahood, God, Allah. You need the Ultimate…not as an objective entity…but as the ground of your being.

From Teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh, Israeli-Palestinian Retreat 2003