I remember the first Garden, the sweet scents,
colors dazzling to the eyes,
the beauty causing breath to gasp,
heart to beat and emotions to swoon.

Was that not Paradise? The Garden of Love? What else could it have been?

In The Garden of Love the servant accepts the Will of the Beloved
and labors with desire to serve so the Garden and Mansion might
exist in peace and tranquility.

In the Garden of the Beloved the fruits of labour nourish the soul,
the sweet fragrances give balm to the wounds suffered
in service and love refreshes the spirit.

Was it our desire for self that caused us to leave The Garden?
Did we forsake Eden for a world of ash and dust?
Did we leave the paradise of lightness for the angst of struggle and toil?

Each day humankind labors in the garden of its own imaginings,
seeking those things that pass in an instant of time,
providing no comfort beyond the immediate.

In the garden of man each soul yearns for eternal bliss
while seeking pleasure in the mirage of its own vanity.

As fleeting pleasures pass we pursue another and another
until exhausted and subdued by age we realize
the fruits of our garden only sustain life and do not nurture it.

We toil in the garden of man, beasts of burden laboring to survive,
gathering for an uncertain future, to avoid desperation.

But those who hearken to the Call of the Beloved are not chained to the earth
nor are they condemned to the garden of man’s own making.
By turning to the Spirits of the Sun, the Revealers of Eternal Truth,
They seek for The Garden of The Beloved.

The price of admission?
A sincere heart, detachment, acknowledgement and acceptance.
We need only ask with an open heart, an open mind and the path will be made known.

Eternal Spirit,
Allow us the gift of memory so that we may recall the bliss and adoration felt at the dawning of time as we gathered in unison beneath the tree of life.
Grant us understanding of the true purpose of life.
Give us knowledge and the key of detachment.
Bestow upon us the gift of acceptance and the strength of commitment.
Through the fragrance of true love provide us with contentment.
Suffer us to recognize and abide by Thy will so that we, like wayward children, can return to and access to Thy Garden.

PEACE