“Good morning! This is Kuan Yin.

You’re always, “Almost there.” And there is no there, there, when you get there. There’s always another there, a little bit higher, a little bit further on until you reach the heart of Tao, the ultimate destination.

Sometimes people want the journey to be easy and quick, but it never is. The point, if there is one, to the spiritual journey is to surmount difficulties, climb rocks or go under them, to push oneself to the limit of endurance, and come out the other side. We hope to come out the other side stronger, leaner, quieter, more pure and radiant. More willing to serve and be a blessing, to express truest love.

…

What does the endeavor of climbing a great mountain look like? It might look like walking on an easy upward path, through grassy meadows and big trees. Then it gets steeper, more rocky, less vegetation. Toward the finish, the climb might be nearly vertical with dangerous drop offs, thin air, bitter cold. The legs tremble with fatigue, breath comes labored, the heart beats uncomfortably fast. But the eye is ever upward to the top of the peak, with the blue black sky behind it, the sun ravishing its stark beauty. You go on. What is the alternative? Turn around and go back down? the trek down can be as exhausting and treacherous as the upward one, and one would not have achieved the goal.

….

In the spiritual quest, as in climbing the mountain, that last 10 percent is the most difficult and perilous. That is where strength of character and persistence win the day, as well as a great faith that you WILL succeed, and you are not alone in the trying. The darkness does not want you to succeed, and will hurl rocks, wild weather, wrong thoughts and distractions of all kinds toward you.

Can you identify these and strive on?

The being through whom these teachings express has received the message many times,

“Keep your feet on the path, your eye on the heart of your teacher. Do not look down, do not look left nor right. Eyes up, heart up, faith burning.”

That is stepping out in strength and belief. Are there monsters in the chasm below? Yes. Of course. Eyes up, heart up.

It is all right to be Almost There. Is there any moment more thrillingly alive and present than being on that knife’s edge? Reaching, reaching for that pinnacle and hauling yourself up to stand on the top of the world. You have come out the other side of struggle and travail, and rest on the peak for a bit.

There’s always another peak, until you reach the heart of Tao.

That is all,

I love you.”

This teaching was expressed through Kristin Strachan, Kuan Yin Lineage holder, teacher, student of Master Zhi Gang Sha, and spiritual practitioner in Colorado.

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