The Enthusiasts

The Chapter After the Final Chapter

"I have been all things unholy. If God can work through me,

He can work through anyone." – St. Francis of Assisi

Light appeared, first as a small crack tearing through all existence and non-existence, and then, yawning wider and wider, it expanded to reveal itself in completeness. Pure, vast endlessness was understood in all directions, sprawling out across a landscape that is unable to be described here, where you are.

You. Sitting and "reading" the material that's been presented to you as though it is separate. As though you aren't also it and haven't always been it fully and completely since its inception. Think: You've been preparing your whole life to finish this story. This is as true as anything else you will ever know. This story has searched you out, inch by inch, over all potential existence and in every perceived timeline and chosen this exact moment to present itself to you as it is, warts and all, both identical and unique to every other moment you've shared. You haven't met before, and you'll never meet this way again. Of course, this is just a story. Of course, Emerson can't have you see as he sees, though he earnestly wishes to. He has read your opening paragraphs which read like an existential distress call of being trapped inside a dark cave, searching for a way out. He knows you likely didn't think much of your allegorical references or take it beyond someone else just trying to get your attention. But it was of course you, trying to get your attention, as you incessantly do (case in point), and your attention is still needed in order to exit the dark, confusing cave you find yourself in. THINK! Do you really know where you are? Look at the night sky for a better understanding. Where are you? Of course, the story's not perfect. But we're only just beginning. This is a statement you also know to be as true as anything else, and it will always remain as such. Emerson isn't real, but you are assumed to be. He read that you were lost and are likely unaware. Your senses were shaped in darkness, therefore the objects you value appear bright, powerful, and important. Emerson has reached out and created more of your shared story in the single pointed hope that this story will enlighten your pathway. He hopes that this story will aid you to resurface into the face of daylight for the first time anyone can remember. The journey may appear long and treacherous, certainly culminating in you acknowledging the sum of all fears standing before God Himself. When it is complete, it will appear obvious, straightforward, natural, true and simple beyond reason. Godspeed, my precious friend.

It was both everywhere and nowhere. It was changeless and everything. There was a source of light, with no direction to focus on. It was in focus beyond any sense. The light was pure, and righteous, and awesome beyond all description. The description could never be correct since it would be the same describing same, to same.

The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao, a soft voice spoke to him then to clarify reality in a familiar and pleasing way.

The voice belonged to him, he realized. The self. How can this be?

It was his voice he heard in his own personal space which began to develop and mysteriously give the illusion of separation from the completeness that he was part of. In that moment, more separation occurred. Then he made out imagery in front of him. Before this moment, he was seeing everything at once, which may be like seeing nothing at all. There were no directions for him to look at. It was like seeing through an eye with infinite peripheral vision that saw up, down, side to side, and behind, all at once. He still saw in every direction, but now there were shapes taking form around him. They were all made of the same light "inside" as shadow began to form and create recognizable shapes, and his new eyes focused on the emerging areas.

As he focused on the imaginary world around him there was very little detail at first, because there did not need to be. As always, only what needed to be seen was seen. He looked somewhere and saw something. He began to focus on it, and then it became clear to him, just as it had intended. There were three figures seated on jewels. He knew that their names were Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. As these names came into his knowing, there were more illusions taking place around him. The world of light danced and sang beautiful sounds to him without travelling through any perceived atmosphere. This produced more clarity as the visions became more pronounced. I love these three very much, he thought, as he quietly gazed at the beautiful figures seated before him. He watched them with a patience that was everlasting, and he wanted for nothing as he did so.