The Big Picture

"Wait, I'm coming with you," the Soul Child shouted over the wind, seizing Meredith's hand. 

"I could use some company," Meredith said over the uproar.   

"Are you ready for the Big Picture?" her Soul Child yelled.  

"I'm ready." Her strength was waning rapidly.

"Then come on!" The child said, pulling Meredith along. They lurched forward over the receding cloudscape. "This is it, see?" She yanked hard,

and. . .they walked. . . right off. . .the edge. . .of the world.

All Time Now

She stood on the crossroads of time, staring out into infinity. The universe was endless. Life was but a small dent in the emptiness, which was more than she could ever encompass. Yet she welcomed the void into herself. Her soul craved it. When she contemplated it, she felt released from the burdens of life, of caring and needing.

She remembered her mother, suffering as Mother Earth, absorbing the blows of carelessness, wantonness and waste. The deep meaning of that struck her at a level so profound she could not express it. Her mother's suffering mattered. It mattered more than a little. It mattered a lot, even in the face of eternity.

Diamond Tiles

She saw her entire journey revealed before her like a road map. It was a design that expanded in all directions. It was her own itinerary laid out like diamond tiles on a track leading to heaven. It was where she had been, where she was going. It was the link to all worlds. It was the solution. It was enlightenment.

From here, all destinations were possible. Meredith stepped forward onto the wide wonderful latticework of her journey. She stepped into her own life.