The ocean can be yours; why should you stop
Beguiled by dreams of evanescent dew?
The secrets of the sun are yours, but you
Content yourself with motes trapped in beams.”
Excerpt from Sufi poem Conference of the Birds
It seems our collective energy has taken a nosedive toward ugly spirituality, horrible aesthetics, overconsumption and exhausting authoritarianism. It’s easy to think shadow is overtaking the light.
But remember, you can’t have shadow without the light.
So here I am, on a shady dock by an empty cenote. I’m enjoying the last hour of both our days watching minnows nibble my toes until I swim beneath palms and manglars laden with seeds and root pods. A flock of Carribbean blue jays chatters from above before floating to more productive feeding ground. A Tucan clucks and calls my attention as the caretaker tells me times up. They bring me into the light. And the shadow? Well, you can’t have shadow without the light. But as the light rises, shadow becomes indistinguishable and ceases to exist.
Therefor, the answer is magnify your light. Create like the divine creator. Call out what you see. Live with love and light in the Paradise we rediscover around us. Hear the Sufi Hoopoe bird who encouraged the Peacock, “do not content yourself with motes trapped in beams” when the “secrets of the sun are yours.”
Be a part of Paradise Found, edition 2, Autumn. We’d love to see your interpretation of Paradise in Autumn in painting, collage, writing, photography, video, music and recording. Send submissions to 2bmonk@gmail.com before Oct 15th, 2025 or anytime you have a piece of paradise to share. We can fit it into a season.