Communication

 

            Pavel’s house stood at the edge of the small town on the side of a small hill, allowing him to look out across the town and see all of its activity, both good and bad. The property had belonged to his family for at least seven generations, now he lived alone, he was the only child to his parents who also were only children. He surrounded himself with domestic animals, vegetable gardens, fruit trees, and an enormous chicken coop which provided him with approximately thirty eggs each week.

               He would rise early each morning, gather eggs, seek for ripe fruit on the trees, and read through the Gospels as he ate his breakfast on his front porch. Occasionally distracted by seeing the constant decline of the small town below into ever deepening depravity, he could feel himself growing cold and frustrated inside, wishing that he could do something to help those who were clearly lost and confused.

               He completed his work for the day, and spent a few hours touring his property and seeking for answers as to how best impact those around him. “I guess I only have two options,” he thought, “I can either leave the peace and solitude of my property to enter into the corruption and depravity of the town below and offer my wisdom, my guidance, and be willing to answer any questions asked of me, or I hope that anyone below will seek me out, approach me up here in the peace and quiet away from the ugliness of the other world.”

               Walking slightly uphill to enjoy the cool beauty of the small stream that flowed from the hills and through his property, he removed all of his clothing, laid down in the cool, flowing water and could feel himself relaxing and drawing nearer to holiness and away from the corruption of the world below. Rising to his feet after nearly thirty minutes, he kept himself standing on the large rocks at the edge of the stream, put on his sandals, retrieved his clothing and crossed through a large open prairie to enter his house, find a new set of clean clothes and ascend to the second floor to look, once again upon the town below.

               Feeling bright, feeling alive, and feeling encouraged, he made the decision to pursue both avenues to hopefully reveal himself to anyone who was interested in becoming a better person. He returned to the main floor, caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and realized that he looked more like a senseless savage rather than one to whom others would seek wisdom and guidance. “Wow, I need to do something about my appearance,” he thought, “I need to appear as someone who can offer wisdom, offer guidance, and offer help.”

               After taking a quick shower in his master bathroom, he combed through his hair, trimmed it into a reasonable form, trimmed his chaotic beard and found a presentable set of clothing. “Okay, time to make the short walk into town, I guess,” he said to himself. Before leaving his home, he filled a bag with apples to give away to those he met as he weaved through town. Finally reaching the bottom of the hill upon which his home was built, he walked for one hundred yards to the edge of town, happily greeting each person he encountered and offering them an apple.

               As he completed his walk through every street in the entire town, he found himself with an empty bag, feeling as if he had done a good deed for those in need. He eventually reached the small park at the center of town, began a game of chess with an elderly gentleman and after eight moves, he defeated the old man, to find out that he had defeated the current chess master of the town.

               As he continued to interact with numberless people throughout the park, on the sidewalks, and in the grocery store, he realized that the hour was getting late, and darkness had begun to settle, forcing him to return home before he could no longer find his way. Concerned about the danger of being on the streets with so much crime at every corner, he hurried to the edge of town, across the open prairie and ascended the hill to slip inside of his home.

               Excited and proud of himself for stepping out and away from the peace and solitude of his property, he hoped that his new friendships and connections would seek him out and ask for wisdom and guidance. Rising early the next morning, he enjoyed his breakfast on the front porch and saw a small group of young men approaching his home across the open prairie. Quickly finishing his meal, he rushed his dishes inside, and met the group of young men as they began their journey up the walkway to his front door.

               Each young man introduced himself as they approached Pavel, with questions about how to succeed in life, how to find joy, how to find satisfaction, and how to be good people. Pavel and his four new friends walked to the back of his property, sat in the shade of the fruit trees and began a series of questions and answers.

               “The most important thing young men is to always seek to love your neighbor, help those who are in need, and be willing to give up your own pleasures so that others can begin a path toward life, toward love, and toward success,” he said. “I believe that I need to meet with each one of you individually so that your specific questions and needs can be addressed. Please stay seated here while I speak with you individually, think carefully about your own questions, and I will be prepared to answer them and provide the best direction I can offer.”

               Pavel rose to his feet, pointed at one of the men to join him under a distant apple tree. “I can see your heart and your struggles young man,” he said, “what is your name?”

               “My name is Alexander,” he answered, “can you give me wisdom and guidance about how to help my family find peace and comfort?”

               “Yes, of course,” Pavel answered, “Think of your life like a long journey up a mountain, if you are carrying a bag of stones upon your back, you will find that leaving them before you begin your journey, you will make good progress. There is no sense carrying anger, carrying disappointment, and carrying memories of previous mistakes. Learn to leave these things behind, focus on the end goal, and do not concern yourself with being wealthy or being comfortable. Your focus needs to be on loving your neighbor, caring for those under your responsibility, and doing good to everyone you know.”

               Pavel and Alexander stood up at the same time, returned to the other three men, Alexander sat down, and Pavel invited another man to join him under the distant apple tree. “Come with me, please,” he said, “what is your name young man?”

               “My name is Dominic,” he answered, “I am struggling in a terrible way with lust and anger, what wisdom can you give me to help me break free from these things?”

               “Yes, I can see these things in your eyes,” Pavel said, “there is a darkness about you and you will need to make a great effort to control your thoughts, your passions, and the time you spend with young women. Learn to drive away thoughts, dreams, and lustful desires, and instead focus on the good that can be done for those who are closest to you. At every possible moment, you need to repeat and speak out loud this simple prayer, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ This will drive away these passions that you call uncontrollable.”

               Pavel met with the third young man to learn that his name was Jeffrey and he was struggling with the passion of violence and destruction. “These are the things that I am seeing in you, Jeffrey,” he said, “you cannot love your neighbor if you are always focused on violent thoughts against him or the destruction of his or others property. When you feel these aggressive thoughts come upon you, replace them with actions that will help others, and assist others as they move through life.”

               Pavel and the fourth young man moved themselves to the shade of the apple tree and watched as the other three young men descended the hillside to return to their homes. “Thank you for taking the time to teach us and guide us,” Jamal said, “now that my three friends have left us, I wanted to ask if I can stay here with you in this beautiful place. I find myself constantly struggling with numberless bad thoughts, corruption, alcohol, and crime, please make me your student so that my life can be something that is beautiful and productive.”

               “That is an excellent choice, Jamal,” Pavel said, “you need to do one thing first, go home, speak with those who know you and will miss your presence. Come back tomorrow morning and I will have a place set up for you to live and be at rest. You have made a wise decision to move away from the corruption of the world.”

               “You are choosing a very good path, Jamal,” Pavel said, “if one can flee from the corruption of one’s culture, you will find that the silence, the peace, and the solitude will make you a better and stronger person. Please promise me that you will gladly and willingly follow the instructions that I give you each day. There will be consistent work and the pursuit of knowledge.”

               “Yes, sir, I will,” Jamal answered. “After listening to you speak when we first arrived, my heart burned within me with the desire to stay here forever and help you make this place even better and more beautiful. I trust that you and I will be able to positively influence even more young men, if they will come to sit at your feet and learn to be good and kind.”