THERE is something wonderful about a ride on a ferry, if you like ferry rides. But if you take the ferry only to get to the other side, you may miss the fun of the ride. One who enjoys the ride notices with delight the changing colors of sky and water, the glint of sunlight on the waves, small boats and big ships plying busily back and forth, and sounds: the cry of a bird, waves lapping against the prow, the sizzle of foam in the wake, the creaking of piles as the ferry noses into the slip, the clanking of chains and pulleys as the gangplank is lowered. Every moment of the crossing makes one feel glad. What a wonderful way to get to the other side!
Human life is a crossing. It is a transition from sense to Soul. And yet it differs from the ferry ride in that the destination is not a terminal point where one gets off and goes on in a different world. The destination is spiritual, a realization of the reality of good and the unreality of evil.
The ferry ride called human life goes on until we learn the real and understand the nothingness of the unreal. In other words, the journey is not across, but figuratively up. And the way begins with gratitude.
