In the third year of the reign of King Cyrus

Perfect Contentment

It came to pass that in the third year

Of the reign of King Cyrus, 537 BC,

The wizard Shamal stands in a high tower overlooking the empire.

(Shamal, whose name means North Wind,

Is one of four in the history of the world

Who has the power of Balaam to curse and to bless nations,

For it is through Shamal’s magic that King Cyrus captures

Babylon without a fight.)

But gazing down now at his left forefinger

Where it rests on a page of the Mahabarata

Shamal reads the words of king Yudhistira,

“What is your opposite?” And Yudhistira’s answer? “It is my self.”

Not to be out done by another,

Shamal says to himself,

I have put forth the full power of my will to fulfill my destiny.

And yet I see something still remains for me to seek.

What is my opposite? Shamal asks himself.

He answers his own question: “It is perfect contentment.”

Now so great is Shamal’s power of command

He can take a cup into his hands

And speak a wish or even a dream

And it will come to be.

So he fills a silver cup with water to the brim

And speaks these very words

Which I hear now as if I am standing next to him

As he drinks that magical essence

His body and soul becoming radiant with its presence:

He says,

With my opposite I will now unite

Let these waters be perfect contentment

Ah, each moment a flower

You hold in your hands

Its scent dissolves time

So eternity can shine

The five senses now full of light, delight, and insight.

In perfect contentment

There is no masculine or feminine

No strife and no opposition

No desire and no need for satisfaction

There is no longing, no heartbreak,

No loss, no separation, and no grief,

Because in this moment there is nothing missing from life

I already feel complete.

The wealthy and powerful of this world

Shall seek this treasure but it shall remain hidden from them

Its grace shall anoint lovers with serene fire as they lie together

But then it shall slip away into the silence of the night

If they fail to understand each other

Prophet and priest

Mage and sage

Who seek this wonder

Shall see it only in a vision of the future

Of what can or shall be

Because in their heart of hearts

They are not yet truly free.

Flowing into the Euphrates

There is a stream

And I can feel every drop that enters those waters

From the falling rain to where

The stream and the Euphrates meet the sea

Perfect contentment is not just a human emotion

It is also divine being--

Though longing needs time to find satisfaction

Contentment knows no boundaries

The stream is as much a part of me

As the blood flowing through my body

If I think of the woman I love

I feel her heart beat

The breath in her lungs

The moisture glistening on her lips

The scent of her hair

The taste of her skin

She too is as much a part of me

Thought, feeling, sensation, memory, and dream

Every part of her being is within the realm of my perception

Shall not perfect contentment lead love to its perfection?

The stream, the woman, the awareness of divine being,

The flower unfolding in each moment--

To be one with these without separation

This is what it is to be complete

And after that moment

Shamal no longer used his powers to bless and to curse nations

Having found peace inside himself

His heart chose another direction.