Snow Melt

The Journey versus the Destination

The March 14, 2013 prompt for "Blogging Circle of Friends Prompt Forum"  is
Are you the type of person who lives for the journey or for the destination?

I don't think you can separate the journey from the destination because they are linked. Sometimes the connection between the journey and the destination is subtle, in this case the seeker is not aware of the destination because it is hidden by fog, mountains, or forest. At other times the link between the journey and the the destination is clearer and the wayfarer can see the hints of the end of the journey.

The journey of the wayfaring seeker is a spiritual one and the stages can be symbolized as valleys. Traveling through these valleys the seeker encounters numerous tests on his or her way to the destination and that destination is the Beloved of the seeker's soul. So, to answer the question, I find the journey exciting and stressful, while looking forward to the destination.

The Wayfarer's Journey

Stone on stone foundations were laid
And citadels constructed:
Seven cities lead to certitude;
Seven valleys perfection.

Exiting self,
The Wayfarer traverses
The stages of certitude;
Through valleys deep and city streets,
She ascends the degrees of perfection.

Into the Valley of Search,
The Wayfarer rides
Astride the steed of patience:
Seeking high and low;
Seeking far and wide;
For the Point of Adoration.

Inhaling the fragrance of the Friend,
The Seeker
Is dissolved in the blaze of love.

Into the Valley of Love,
The Wayfarer rides
Astride the steed of pain:
Blind to both doubt and certitude;
Blind to ignorance and knowledge;
She fears nothing.

By the favor of God,
The Lover is freed
From the claws of the eagle of love.

Into the Valley of Knowledge,
The Wayfarer strides
Content with God's injunction.


The Traveler perceives,
With both outward and inward eyes,
The secrets of resurrection
In the universe;
In the infinite Manifestations of God
She recognizes divine wisdom.

Advancing beyond the planes of limitations,
The Wayfarer strides
Into the Valley of Unity.

The Wanderer penetrates the shrouds of plurality:
To see with the eye of God;
To hear with the ear of God;
And comprehend the varieties witnessed
In the phases of her journey
Emanate from her own perceptions.

Entering the Valley of Contentment,
The Wayfarer experiences
The zephyrs of divine happiness
Blowing from supernal realms.

Burning the veils of desire,
She sees all creation compensated
Out of God's abundance:
Her depression changes into ecstasy;
Her unhappiness succumbs to rapture.

Entering the Valley of Wonderment,
The Wayfarer's awe increases exponentially.

Thrown into confusion,
She continually witnesses
New phenomena:
The beauty of God makes her speechless;
The works of God increases her astonishment;
Pondering humanity,
She perceives the universe within.

Entering the Valley of True Poverty
And Absolute Nothingness,
The Wayfarer dies
And is reborn in God.

In this station
The Seeker is sanctified
From everything that decomposes:
She lives on the plane of certitude;
She hears the song of perfection.

Through her journey,
The Wayfarer must never depart
From the Law of God.

Obedient to the commandments of God,
The Traveler
Shuns everything forbidden:
She is nourished from the goblet of Law;
She is acquainted with the secrets of Truth;
And soars in the heaven of certitude.

(152 B.E.)

Notes about this poem: This poem was inspired by The Seven Valleys. I wrote it sometime in 1996. In this poem, the word she refers to the soul and not gender. Once I decide whether I need to rewrite this poem, I will attempt a poem inspired by The Four Valleys.

Thought of the Day: "And further: The stages that mark the wayfarer’s journey from the abode of dust to the heavenly homeland are said to be seven. Some have called these Seven Valleys, and others, Seven Cities. And they say that until the wayfarer taketh leave of self, and traverseth these stages, he shall never reach to the ocean of nearness and union, nor drink of the peerless wine. The first is ..." - Baha'u'llah, The Seven Valleys And the Four Valleys, page 5