Throwback Thursday: Ezekiel

Well looks like it's Throwback Thursday. I decided to dig into my old blog and find one that's pretty special to me.

"Ezekiel"
by Ecrit
June 16th, 2007

Strangely, when I feel the most alone, the place that I go is not a populated area, but rather the most remote location I can find. The solitude and beauty of an Ozark forest is something most usually found in fairytales. However one afternoon, I was walking in a particularly remote area of Shannon County and came across something that changed my life.
Tip-toeing along the yeilding banks of the Current River in late fall, I came upon a particular overlook, and seated on the stump of an old oak was a child. Six or seven years old, perhaps. He had skin, pale as the bright winter sky, icy blue eyes and the most amazing mop of platinum blonde dreadlocks. I was so struck by his appearance that I didn't question why a child was in the middle of nowhere, by himself in the woods. I was creeping carefully along the edge of the stream and I knew he hadn't heard my approach. I stopped and thought a moment, because I didn't want to startle him. I lifted my foot to step on a felled birch branch, hoping it's snap would appropriately announce my presence. "Don't step on that branch," he said. "I heard you coming a long time ago." Stunned, I continued along carefully, as not to step in the chilly water.
I presented myself in the clearing where he was perched. It was a beautiful spot, overlooking a bend in the Current. The swift riffles of the wintry river looked like millions of crystals rolling over each other in the morning sun.
"What's your name?" I said, trying to be friendly. He grinned widely and said, "Names tell you nothing about a person, but it's always one of the first things you ask of a stranger. Names allow you to act as if you know a person, when you may not know anything more than what that person was called at birth." I must have looked confused while pondering his statement, because he asked if I understood. "Not really," I replied.

"Okay well what is your name?"

"Kyle."

"Ah.. Gaelic. Are you Scottish?"

"No."

"Well, Kyle can be derived from Caol, Gaelic for 'a woody area.' Do you live in the woods?"

"No."

"Well it can also mean a person whom dwells in a strait. Do you live by the sea?"

"No."

"Okay well then it can't come from 'Kaile' either then, which is a medieval Saxon word for a ship."

Once the boy received enough negative responses to make his point, he said, "See, I knew you better before you told me your name than I do now."

I must have looked dumbfounded because the boy asked me if I had lost my way. "Physically? No." I responded. "But spiritually, perhaps. See I like to…" "Take walks in the woods because it's quiet and beautiful and you can think," the boy interrupted. "See how much more important knowing a person is, than knowing their name?"

Now, utterly perplexed, I sat down in the pine needles, joining him in his centurion-like observation of the river. "You seek completeness," he said. I asked him if that was a bad thing, and he said, "The most important thing to keep in mind while seeking an unachievable goal, is to make sure that you never expect to achieve it. I sense that you were depressed and confused, far before you stumbled upon me sitting here. How come?" I replied, "Well I don't really know where I fit in this world. I rarely ever get what I want and hope for. Not speaking materially, but the chapters of my life always seem to end up with me stranded in an unfavorable position."
I sat back and thought to myself how right the boy was when he said I sought completeness. I was surprised that I had never considered it to be so before. I had given it a lot of names in my head; the stage and characters always different, but the plot always the same. Maybe I didn't need completeness. Maybe I didn't know what it was that I needed to feel good inside. I was staring intensely at the ground between my feet, the world always seems alive with motion when I ponder something deeply for the first time.
"In the end everyone is seeking the same thing," he said, "only to realize too late that the farther away you get from where you started, the farther away you realize your destination lies."

"Go on a journey, don't return until you find what makes you feel good inside. Then you will know what it is you're looking for, if you want, I can help you."

"How?" I asked.

I was still looking down when he gave his answer.

In his final words he replied, "I will put my spirit into you, and you shall live again."

I paused, suddenly knowing his name, and also knowing when I looked up he would be gone. I lifted my head and uttered his name.

"Ezekiel…"