Deep in his slumber, one night a man had a very real, yet surreal dream. He dreamt that he was walking along the beach with God. As he looked up at the sky, he saw all the scenes of his life flash by along with two sets of footprints: one set for himself, and another for God.

After all the scenes had flashed before him, he looked back at those footprints and noticed something quite disturbing: At the most difficult times in his life, he saw only one set of footprints.

This deeply troubled the man, so he turned and said to God: “You said that if I followed you, then you would always walk with me through thick and thin. In looking back, I see that during the most painful times there is only one set of footprints. Why did you leave me when I needed you the most?”

“I love you and would never leave. It was during those times when you suffered the most that I carried you.”

In “Footprints”, one idea that is being taught is that no person is alone at any time of day or night. We are all part of a universal presence and as such all parts of the presence support and have an effect on the other parts. Whenever someone thinks that they have to face up to some overwhelming event, they may feel totally isolated from everyone including their own family members and they may feel depressed and lonely.

“Footprints” is a reminder that Spirit is always a part of our lives and will always be there to help us through any type of circumstance. Knowing that there is always the Spirit and greater power that will help support us and take care of us also helps bring comfort to us.

Spirit can take whatever form that someone wants to assign it, there is no one religious name or form that is better or more usable than another. The main thought to bear in mind is that even when we may believe wwe’re alone and in despair, there is support to help us continue forward.

There’s a man who has been by himself in a prison cell with a dirt floor, crude stone walls, and there’s two windows one of which looks out towards the ocean. All of the sudden, he hears a scratching noise, and he looks down at the ground that is furthest away from the window facing the ocean. He sees the ground moving, and he starts to think he’s losing his mind. But soon the ground breaks, and up pops a head with long hair and a beard… it’s a prisoner.

And the prisoner says “Sssh. Listen. A group of us have been tunneling for about six years, and we’ve finally reached your cell. We have ways to cover up my entrance into this, but now it’s all on your shoulders, man. All you have to do,” he said while pointing out the window towards the ocean, “you just start digging here and go down about six feet and about 75 feet in that direction and there is freedom, and we’re outta here!”

“Oh, I love that! That’s great; I want to be free!”

“Okay, I’ll check back with you in a few weeks.”

Two weeks later, the pops back in to check on his friend’s progress, and his friend nods back with great affirmation. “Yeah, I’ve done it.”

So the man who was providing the instructions pops down the hole, and two seconds later pops right back up and says, “What have you done?!?!?”

“Huh?”

“I told you to dig in the direction towards the OCEAN! This tunnel that you dug goes back under the wall and into the prison yard.”

“Well, the digging was easier in the other direction…”

The way I see this story (and you may discover something entirely different!) is that the main character incorrectly thinks that the shortest and easiest distance is the correct way to go. The result of this, is that the digger finishes his task very quickly but rather than leading all of his fellow inmates to freedom, instead he hands them right over to the prison guards by digging a hole back into the prison yard.

What he doesn’t realize is that sometimes the “shortest” and immediately “easiest” answer is not always the easiest answer in the long run. The digger failed to see that even though it was easiest to dig towards the prison yard, it actually is the hardest choice he could have made… because it’s going to be a lot harder for him to continue living in the prison.  (This is especially true, since he will probably get in a lot of trouble with all the inmates whose escape plans were ruined by the diggers incorrect decsion).

This is a beautiful metaphor for the spiritual journey. Often we take shortcuts or try the easy route because we do not fully understand the big picture. I myself am prone to this — I know that there are great benefits to meditating, and yet I choose to do other things with my time. I know that exercising would be great for my body, and that a little exercise now will prevent many health problems in the future… and yet I do not exercise.

I obviously still have more to learn from this story… more to embody. Sure, I understand the story at an intellectual level.  And even some at a soul level. But my current “easy” choice of not incorporating meditation and exercise into my daily life serves as evidence that I still have work to do so that I can truly embody and know these lessons at a soul level… to become the teaching (not just “know” it).

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation and talked about so many things and various subjects. When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: “I don’t believe that God exists.”

“Why do you say that?” asked the customer.
“Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn’t exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can’t imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things.”

The customer thought for a moment, but didn’t respond because he didn’t want to start an argument. The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop. Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and unkempt. The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber: “You know what? Barbers do not exist.”

“How can you say that?” asked the surprised barber.
“I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!”
“No!” the customer exclaimed. “Barbers don’t exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside.
“Ah, but barbers DO exist! That’s what happens when people do not come to me.”
“Exactly!” affirmed the customer. “That’s the point! God, too, DOES exist! Because people do not look to God for help is why there’s so much pain and suffering in the world.”

I’ve always enjoyed this story – not so much because it challenges our views on whether or not God exists or we believe in God – but because it challenges our views on whether ANYTHING exists.

Often it’s so easy to see the obvious message in a short spiritual story… “Proof of God’s existence” is the one that stands out distinctly. But in my experience, such messages are surprisingly unhelpful because all we are doing is attempting to replace one belief system for another.

Instead, one might consider a deeper meaning through some of the following questions:

• “What is the importance of proof in my life?”
• “Where in my life do I need proof? Why?”
• “Where in my life do I have faith, and therefore don’t need proof? Why?”
• “What would my life be like if I never had to prove anything to anybody, including myself?”

By taking a deeper look at the lessons hidden within the story, it can begin to take on a much more personal meaning for us. And that has me curious…

What personal meaning does this story now have for you?