Another Visit

My eyes felt like soft boiled eggs. I had pounded keys beyond endurance and was beat. Mental fatigue had me sandbagged. I keep a couch opposite my desk for just such times. It could turn into a bed, but the cushions were comfortable by themselves. Sleep met me there and welcomed me.

I sank into a soft fog.

Later (Couldn't tell when. Time had no meaning.), I sensed something, someone. I looked up and She was there again.

She looked the same, long blond hair, blue dress. Her eyes were just as clear and focussed and there was a slight smile on her face. She sat in the chair just next to my desk, relaxed yet intent as before.

'Michael, you need to remember. Where is the Sword?' Her smile levelled.

'Here', I said. My hand fell to it instantly. 'I haven't forgotten it.' I felt the familiar 'tingle' and stood immediately, in a ready position.

'I know. But you must not wander. You must concentrate.' She stood and faced me directly.

I was puzzled. I took up the Sword. I had never let it go. I knew the cost. I thought I knew the cost. What more is there?

She answered, 'As you know it is great. It demands devotion.'

I spoke not a word, as she knew my thoughts.

'You have wandered. We are concerned that you may wander too far.' She sat back down and I did the same.

'In spite of the spiritual aspects of all this, keep in mind that the Sword is not magic. It is simply how you use it.' She regarded me with that cool gaze and hint, still, of a smile.

I thought more deeply.

The workaday world had distractions aplenty. Even though I thought myself beyond the 'beer and sports' mentality, there was enough going on to pull me away from the task at hand, while I fooled myself into believing I was fully committed.

'Please give me the Sword', she asked, seeming to reassure me that it wasn't surrender.

I handed it to her hilt first, as was the custom.

She swept it deftly up and away, into a curious spiral.

'Balance, Michael. Don't be heavy handed. Keep in mind everything and just do the job in front of you.'

'What about to my sides and behind? What if I concentrate so much in front, that I'm 'sideswiped'?'

She demonstrated something remarkable. She sidestepped, and swung round 360. So deft, swift that it almost was s blur.

'If you are balanced, you will see to the side and behind. If not, then your distractions will cost you.' She tossed the Sword at me.

I caught it lightly and swept round as she had done.

She smiled widely and said, 'Just because you are flesh and blood, does not mean you cannot do as I have done. Balance. And vision.'

I saw immediately. Work, my writing scripts etc, my family and the Sword were ALL part of the greater whole. Never to put one above the other, but to keep them together, THAT was my way of living, doing.

'The enemy knows how to distract. For some, it's simply as you say beer and sports. For others it is work, making a living. Family concerns play into that. For those who take up the Sword, it can be a segue from those things to a near burning out to wake up others to the danger in our midst. Do not let go of one at the price of another. Focus, concentrate, balance.'

Simple? Yes and no. There was much work ahead.

'I will return, Michael.' She smiled a dazzling grin.

It was a promise, not a threat.

There was much more to learn.