The Chest

Here is an old story that I made up;

There was once a man trapped in a poverty consciousness. He struggled with having enough, and all of the feelings that come with not being able to meet his responsibilities. An old friend stopped to see him. They had not connected for years, and his friend was fabulously wealthy.

Calling to his servant, a large pitch black chest was brought up. It was clearly heavy, as the servant struggled to bring it into the room. The poor man wept tears of joy and embraced his great friend as he left.  Knowing that he had been given a great treasure, the poor man could not wait to open the chest and discover the wealth he had been left with. 

Seeing the contents he wept again, but this time with bitter tears of rage. How could his friend have been so cruel? Within the chest were odd old items, newspapers, old toys, nothing but junk and garbage. In his anger he slammed the lid down. The force in which he closed the chest was so great that  a large piece of black paint fell off.

It was solid gold! The chest itself was the treasure.  Realizing this, suddenly even the contents was transformed. It was a magical chest as well! In seeing it’s value the contents were transformed. What was garbage was now seen to be precious heirlooms. Now he was truly rich indeed, with the  endless wealth of the items within the chest, but with the realization that the chest itself was the true gift, the true magic.

The chest is the experience of being I AM. Being itself is the true magic, the true miracle. You matter, as do we all. When the world loses the sense the sense of your importance, you still matter. When the sun shines after a major storm, every puddle reflects the sun.  I AM is the great mantra. Keeping it in your mind, remember that subtlety is more powerful than intensity. The subtlety of your own presence is the invitation to genius. 

It is unconditional love. It has no goals for you. Being centered in it is to have an affection for yourself and a general hopefulness. Repeating it in the back of your mind creates a firewall, and protects from negativity and judgement. It grounds us and connects us to love.  Open the chest and discover your real value!