Young grasshopper lived her life the only way she knew how: protecting, defending, armoring up. Young grasshopper struggled to accept her brilliant little body and curiosity for the world. Always wishing she was bigger, stronger, and more knowledgable, young grasshopper blinded herself from seeing her true gifts.
Young grasshopper passed through her days, without an awareness of what she wanted from life. She hopped far and looked around, seeking answers. “What am I to do?” “Where am I to go?” she frequently wondered.
From time to time, Young Grasshopper would see her neighbor, the Wise Woman, sitting by their shared creek. “Why does the Wise Woman always seem so calm, like she hadn’t a care in the world?” Young Grasshopper frequently shook her head in confusion whenever she saw the Wise Woman sitting by the creek doing nothing.
Today was one of these days.
Young Grasshopper saw the Wise Woman resting, motionless on her side of the creek. As Young Grasshopper shuffled across the yard, something must have caught the Wise Woman’s attention, for she turned toward Young Grasshopper. With an easy smile, the Wise Woman said, “What troubles you, Young Grasshopper?”
Young Grasshopper stammered. “I… I… um… how did you know something is bothering me?”
The Wise Woman said, “Young Grasshopper, with your curious eyes looking up whilst your heavy heart drags you down, come sit for but a moment with me. Tell me what it is you carry upon your heart, dear child.”
Surprised by this rare invitation, Young Grasshopper took a seat by the Wise Woman. She began, hesitantly, “I want… to know who… I am.” Her speech quickened. “I go day to day, lost and confused, and I want answers. I want the truth. I want to find meaning.” Young Grasshopper tossed a rock into the creek as she trailed off. “I don’t know what to do…”
The Wise Woman nodded, knowingly. “So you have been searching wide and traveling far for these answers?”
“Oh yes,” Young Grasshopper replied. “I have been searching for days, hopping near and far, listening intently for some type of clue. I don’t even know what I’m looking for or how I can find it.”
“Ah, yes,” said the Wise Woman. “You earnestly seek these answers and you believe your answers are somehow, somewhere outside of you.”
A puzzled expression crossed Young Grasshopper’s face.
Continuing, the Wise Woman said, “Dear child, you may see reflections of Truth outside of you. You may resonate with things you hear; with things you see. However, all Truth lies within us. The answers you seek, are the answers that come from you. You have intently been listening outside of you, all the while missing out on what is inherently inside of you: when you are silent, when you are still, when you remain open to your own experience, life has an incredible way of reminding you who You are and whispering to you your next steps. Your meaning, your fulfillment, your purpose is never without, it is always within. In your Self, you will find your greatest gift…”
Young Grasshopper’s eyes grew bigger. Unblinking, images started to flash through her mind: The Wise Woman… without a care… just being… content as can be…. She knew who she was…. She knows… She is… She doesn’t search outside…
Recognition dawned upon Young Grasshopper’s face as her heart felt uplifted, understood, beaming.
Young Grasshopper slowly rose and began to move aimlessly as she unknowingly started to think out loud. “I have a whole world inside of me to discover. Though I may be small and green, inside I am expansive. I am strong. I am enough. I am, actually, incredible…”
The Wise Woman smiled lovingly at Young Grasshopper. She, too, began to rise as the sun was making its final descent across the sky. The Wise Woman said, “You already have everything you will ever need. The only thing to tell you differently is your fear. Though you may be small, let your love explode. Love has no bounds after all… perhaps that was why you were gifted such a tiny body,” she winked.