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The Path © 1998 by: Cirse Windom
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Egocentricity ~ idolization demonization |
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as seeker progressed, he heard and came upon another group of followers chanting the name of their leader.
“ego-cen-tric.... ego-cen-tric....”
rhythmic and persuasive was the sound ~ ‘the very presence of affirmation....’ thought seeker.
‘this leader, then, must have a great light!’
indeed, egocentric promised to lead his followers through the darkness with his seemingly amazing and steadfast light ~ to steer them safely around obstacles and take them surely to some common destination.
egocentric grasped and displayed before his followers a small, oval, obsidian stone. the stone, suspended from a thong around his neck, glittered with the reflections of the many followers who, kneeling, gazed upon it.
“this is the source of all light.... it is the ‘sacred stone’!”
“with this divine light, i’ve been granted the power to see the future.”
“i am the chosen one, and i, alone, shall possess the ‘sacred stone’.”
egocentric rolled his eyes upward and pressed the stone to his forehead. uttering odd sounds, his body began trembling, as if receiving some extrinsic power.
his followers gasped ~ and one jumped to his feet.... grabbing for the stone.
“stand back, sinner! you are incapable of possessing the ‘sacred stone’ and source of divine light. do not tempt the great powers of lightness; for, they shall punish the weak! any other than i who attempt to possess the light shall be instantly stricken.... stricken! stand back, and i shall save you from such misfortune by burdening my own self with it’s powers!”
the wanderer knelt obediently and suffered, in silence, the angry, menacing glares of egocentric’s gratified congregation.
egocentric continued to pronounce his light as the only true light.... denouncing others’ lights ~ even those of his followers as false lights not to be trusted. he warned of the ominous nature of the many holes along the path ~ warned of the demons lurking within, threatening to devour the unwary.... the weak, the blind, the lightless.
“your meager lights are far too weak to tempt the path alone! you shall be lured, you shall be tempted.... but do not stray. for your light is far, far too weak to resist the pull of darkness. darkness is your enemy. fear it; for, it will lure you astray! lure you into the wicked holes!”
“gather our blessed stones; for, together, we must seek out and destroy the evil holes ~ fill them and eradicate the demon! together we shall walk, unafraid and defiant of this evil.... evil darkness! together, we shall leave this wicked, sinful path and together be absorbed by the great light. the great light that awaits us all.”
“you there.... you who dared to tempt the holy ‘stone’.... you shall suffer an eternity of final judgment in the deepest black hole filled with serpents, stinging scorpions and.....”
egocentric looked about to see the reactions of his followers. their eyes shone with demented glee at the thought of the follower plagued with what they perceived as the just rewards of his conquest.
“....and black widow spiders!” the condemned follower, subject to nods of satisfied approval, lunged for the stone, seized it and tore it from egocentric’s neck....
the stone fell to the ground and shattered.
stunned, the followers stood motionless, fearful ~ awaiting condemnation and the perceived sinner to be struck down.
they could see, however, that light still seemingly emanated from their leader, and so ~ after a moment....
rushed upon the fragments of stone, scavenging any bit of light they could grab for them selves....
believing that to simply possess....
egocentric stood, momentarily gripped by the chaos which threatened to unseat his carefully crafted and kept position of influence.
suddenly, egocentric shrieked madly and fell to the ground in a writhing fit of seemingly unbearable agony.
he growled and wrung his body into a tight ball, then stiffened and clutched his head while making peculiar choking noises.
his throng quickly gathered about and gazed with fascination upon the spectacle unfolding before them.
they watched as egocentric sprung trance-like to his feet, thrust his hands skyward and shouted....
“i’ve had.... a vision! i am to receive.... a gift.”
egocentric ambled into the darkness, beyond the reach of any light. the congregation gasped; for, they believed he had been pulled by mystical forces into the fearful beyond. there, at the edge of a tiny stream, egocentric hurriedly fished around in darkness. at last, he emerged.... cradling some entity in his hand.
as egocentric approached ~ the reflections of light, cast upon him by his believers, grew brighter. “ahhhh....” sighed the followers. “egocentric has come forth from darkness, bearing a mysterious gift.... the gift of light!”
egocentric slowly opened his hands and, crying out in ecstasy, held a large, white, marble stone before his congregation. “it is.... a ‘sacred stone’! a new light. the only true light. you will see.... but, not too closely.... how it glows in my hands! i am the receiver of the light! i alone have been given the gift!”
egocentric’s followers fell once again to their knees, dropping from their hands the shards of obsidian they had once fought so hard to possess.
before the threat of inquisition could arise, egocentric leveled an accusing finger at his perceived antagonist. “evil doer.... the ‘stone’ has graciously spared you instant death, but you shall now wander in darkness, outcast, and helpless before the insufferable lure of wicked holes!”
“outcast.... outcast.... outcast....” chanted the glowering mob.
the condemned follower was sent out.... beyond the reaches of their light.... beyond the perceived protection of the assembly. into the clutches of his greatest fear.
out alone.... into his darkness.
united in their common cause ~ egocentric fed steadily the fears of the many needfuls and harmfuls and doubtfuls who now rallied around him in even greater support. as seeker stood in the near distance.... observing.... he noticed an amazing thing.
seeker found that egocentric actually possessed no light.... but, because he managed to maintain a formidable following ~ the fading lights of those newest and nearest kept him illuminated by sheer reflection. their dying faith in them selves actually provided the illusion that egocentric possessed a light of his own. and new followers seemed easily recruited with every step. the stone, possessing it’s own light, had become employed as an object of diversion and a deceptive device of simple reflection.
seeker took fascinating study of this situation, amazed at his ability to recognize egocentric’s fraudulent influence. seeker was likewise astounded that none of egocentric’s followers seemed to take notice ~ or worse, bothered to question their circumstance and need to follow. thankful for his own past self doubt in teaching seeker how to recognize his own weakness ~ seeker had thusly learned to resist the illusion of ease.
as seeker passed the slowly wandering throng, many chanted: “ego-cen-tric.... ego-cen-tric....” and reached far to pull seeker into their group ~ determined to ‘save’ seeker from his self and his apparent ignorance. but seeker resisted and pursued alone, at his chosen pace. and for this.... seeker was chastised and pitied, criticized and condemned. “heretic!” they called to him. but seeker walked steady on, sorrowful for their willingness to remain lightless ~ for their reluctance to allow him his own light....
believing as they did ~
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