"I've become a monk", they said

"I've become a monk", they said.

Silence.

"But...", she stuttered. "I don't understand."

It was sadness she was feeling. Triggered by her belief that the world just lost a soul. That her friend just turned their countenance away from the world, to instead devote their life to looking inward.

She stared at them in despair.

"No, Mary. It's not what you think."

A pause.

"I'm not turning away. On the contrary. I'm becoming a monk to fully turn towards it.”

Mary looked puzzled. They continued:

“What, to you, might look like standing in the midst of life - working hard in your job, planning the next holidays with your friends, studying diligently for good grades, striving to 'become something' - it's your way of turning away from the world."

Their voice carried compassion as they said those words. And their eyes, full of love, continued to speak:

"The world needs us, Mary. It really does.

It's not a children's game anymore. We might, or might not, get this thing right. We can't continue playing in this self- and other-consumed way.

We need to grow up. And get to work."

Silence, as the fleeting shadows of those words seemed to cause the air to shiver.

"Mary. I'm becoming a monk in order to turn towards the world, fully."

Marry stood there. Her friend's world slowly trickling through her consciousness. Eventually, they touched her heart. And she saw.

"I understand.", she nodes.

"The purpose you're devoting your monkhood to is...

It's life. Isn't it?"

“Mhmm”, they affirm. "Life and flourishing."

Mary's eyes meet her friend's.

"I have stopped clinging to this, my own life. And as a result, I found myself freed to care about all the lives, all the consciousness, that is yet to be.

Those future souls, Mary, they are our brothers and sisters. I can feel them next to me. I love them and care for them.

And in this love, I find the imperative to not only speak of love, but to act."

Mary inhales, holds her breath, and then exhales.

"I wish we all could see."