A Secret of the Heart

Once, a very long time ago, man did not have machines or knowledge of the Earth and stars. In fact, he was a hairy ape who only knew how to eat and sleep but he was always crying to Mother Nature, “Tell me the secret. Tell me the secret”.

 

“The secret of what?”, asked Mother Nature.

 

“The secret of how to make fire”, he said.

 

And so, eventually, Mother Nature got so tired of Man’s crying that she showed him how to make fire and, at first, Man was happy with that little knowledge but then he wanted to know more.

 

“Tell me more”, he said to Nature, “Tell me more”.

 

And so Nature told Man how to make a boat that floats on water and Man was very happy, at first, with his new invention but, not long after that, he began to get bored and curious again.

 

In fact, this went on for many years; Man begging Nature to learn some new secret and Nature, with a sigh, relenting until, finally, Nature decided it would be easier to simply give man the power to work out all the answers for himself.

 

Unfortunately, though man was very happy discovering new things and making new inventions; it wasn’t long before Mother Nature noticed that he was cutting down her beautiful forests and making cattle out of her wild herds and even damming up her rivers.

 

“Stop”, she said to man, “Have some respect for me. It was I who made you and gave you the power to discover and invent. Please have some respect for me”.

 

But Man had grown too arrogant to listen; believing that, because he knew so many of Nature’s secrets and could build and control so many things, he was superior to all other living things and he said to Mother Nature,

 

“I will do as I please, for I am Man; greatest of all the creatures; greater even than you, Mother Nature”.

 

And so Mother Nature began to despair as she saw Man do more and more terrible things to the forests and the animals; the birds and fish and even to those of his own kind.

 

But then, one day, Mother Nature had an idea and she said to Man,

 

“I have one last secret that I have not shown you”.

 

Man did not want to listen at first,

 

“I do not need your help any more”, he said, “I can find out secrets for myself”.

 

But Mother Nature said,

 

“Ahh, but this is a secret that you cannot work out with your head. This is a secret of the heart”.

 

Now Man became interested,

“A secret of the heart? What is that?”, he asked.

 

“Open your heart up”, replied Nature, “And I will put the secret inside”.

 

And so Man opened his heart and Mother Nature poured the secret of Love into it and when Man first felt love within his heart it was as if a new sun had appeared in the sky; he began to see the world around him as beautiful and to care for everything.

 

Unfortunately, the secret of love did not reach the hearts of all men because some, seeing the change that was happening in the hearts of those round about them, became afraid and ran to hide from it inside their caves.

 

And that is why, to this day, some are born with the secret of love already in their hearts but have to teach it to others.

 

Oh, but children; love is greater than all the other secrets; greater than the wheel and fire; greater than boats and planes and towering cities of steel and concrete; greater even than the rockets which take man to the stars and beyond .

 

When you have love within your heart, then you’ll know that there is no greater thing in all the world.