Daily Meditation: Wednesday, August 25, 2004

Talismans - our power to transform objects into Talismans

08/25/2004

Given a flower by the young girl he loves, a boy places it between the pages of a book. After a while, of course, the petals wilt and fade, but what does it matter? Each time he gazes at this flower, it seems to him that his beloved is smiling at him and telling him a thousand things. He places it against his heart and touches it with his lips; for him it is a talisman which opens the doors of heaven. He is filled with joy, he feels inspired, and he becomes a poet. But as time passes, his relationship with this young girl no longer seems so ideal. He now scarcely notices the flower in the book. It no longer speaks to him, as if it had become empty and dumb, and finally one day he throws it away. What has happened? The flower is still there; it has not changed, but he has. It was he himself who once made a talisman of this flower, and it is he who has withdrawn its power.