Dancing in the Cosmos Act 2

ACT TWO

Scene One

ALL:   With Nay Sayer at a distance behind her, Truth Seeker determined to retrace her path.  In her spirit, she knew that the way back would be more difficult, more difficult than the path to this utter desolation.

COMMENTATOR ONE:     Is the path back to Joy more difficult that the path to Joy?

COMMENTATOR TWO:    Most times, my child.

COMMENTATOR ONE:     Why?

COMMENTATOR TWO:    We learn in desolation what we often overlook in prosperity.  The greater the adversity, the greater our Joy when we burst through the darkness into the sunshine.

CHORUS TWO:      Briars and brambles inched across the pathway of Truth Seeker.  The startling cry of the condor shrieked above her.  Her self-doubt rose and churned within her like the surging of convergent oceans.  Nay Sayer could not see his prey, but he heard her despair and softly chuckled as he moved steadily behind her.

TRUTH SEEKER:  How could I have been so blind?  How could I have not seen?  Why did I harken to another’s voice?  How can I be so undeserving of the love of my one and only Eternal Hope?  How can I possibly redeem myself for what I have done?  I have joined the ranks of those who have forsaken their Joy and their hope.

COMMENTATOR ONE:  Who are those who have forsaken their Joy and their hope?

COMMENTATOR TWO: All of us, my child.  Truth Seeker weeps the tears of all mankind.

CHORUS TWO:  Nay Sayer’s chuckle rose to a roar of hideous, evil, foully odorous laughter.  The tears and the laughter mingled with the rising wind and the shriek of the skua to produce a deafening roar  The distress in Truth Seeker’s spirit rose with the clamor. 

She choked on her tears, stumbled over the brambles, picked herself up and continued moving through the storms raging around and within her.

TRUTH SEEKER: (shouting in anguish) Eternal Hope!

COMMENTATOR TWO:  We must always remember Eternal Hope. (Eternal Hope enters.)

CHORUS ONE: Eternal Hope reached through the perturbation, touched the cheek of Truth Seeker, kissed her lips and spoke gently.  As he spoke,  the tumult subsided, the rising wind became the gentle breath of His Spirit, the skua returned to its nest, and overcome by the Spirit of Hope, Nay Sayer laughed in hideous, evil, foully odorous, gagging silence.

ETERNAL HOPE:    You ask how you can redeem yourself, My Beloved?  You cannot, and you have no need to.  I have redeemed you and destined you to become both a vassal and a vessel of Eternal Hope.  You are both my bond servant and my bride destined to bring hope to those who grieve without hope.  No one can deserve my love.  You may only receive it and in receiving it, you are commissioned to pass it on to another. 

Rebuke your fear and self-doubt.  Speak My love and My hope into your spirit.

See that brook of living water sparkling nearby?  Go, refresh yourself in Me. Choose invincibility.  Choose to choose Hope. (Eternal Hope exits.)

CHORUS ONE: Truth Seeker knelt by the brook’s side and saw her reflection in a tiny pool captured by the river stones.  Her reflection startled her.  The pool showed  a weary soul bedraggled by care and fear and hopelessness.  As she washed and drank and rested, she heard again:

ETERNAL HOPE: (off stage) Rebuke your fear and self-doubt.  Speak My love and My hope into your spirit.

TRUTH SEEKER:  I am not this bedraggled creature of the pool.  She is the creature I will become if I choose to wallow in despair.  No!  I am my Beloved’s and He is mine.  I am joined in covenant with Eternal Hope.  I shall go forth.  I shall dance amongst the stars with my Beloved. (Truth Seeker arises with determination and begins her journey. She dances for a moment on the pathway.  Eternal Hope enters and observes her.)

          . 

ETERNAL HOPE:  You have received My love, and it has restored you.  You must now pass it to another.

TRUTH SEEKER: But to whom, my Love?

ETERNAL HOPE: To the most loathsome.

TRUTH SEEKER: To the most loathsome?  Are you asking me to be a vessel of Your love to Nay Sayer?

ETERNAL HOPE:    Yes, he cannot know his destiny in Me until he has tasted of My love for him.  You are destined to be the purveyor of that love.

TRUTH SEEKER: But he stole my Joy.

ETERNAL HOPE:  Oh, My precious one.  He did not steal your Joy.  He merely distracted you, and in your distraction, you surrendered your Joy and accepted his counterfeit.  This truth is the greatest revelation of desolation.  Because you are Mine, no one can steal your Joy.  You can only choose to release it.  This is truth that sets you free.  If you can choose to surrender, you can also choose to keep.  In spite of turmoil around you, you can choose to be content.  In spite of hopelessness, you can choose hope.  Even when others defame you, you can cling to the knowledge of who you are in Me.  If you so choose, despair can no longer rule over you.

On your own, you cannot love Nay Sayer.  Choose to love him in Me.  Allow me to show you how to love him, how to reveal his destiny.

COMMENTATOR ONE:  Can Truth Seeker make Nay Sayer fulfill his destiny?

COMMENTATOR TWO:  No.  That must be his choice.  But she can plant the seed of destiny within him.

COMMENTATOR ONE:  How will she plant that seed?

COMMENTATOR TWO: Gently, gently.

Scene Two

CHORUS ONE:       Eternal Hope provided Truth Seeker with a loaf of bread and a wineskin.  He tenderly urged her onward.  The path seemed yet as dark and as fearsome, but she walked in the quietude of her spirit.  She walked in the quietude of her spirit, but she wrestled with the thoughts in her soul.  To hush those thoughts, she spoke to herself the words of Eternal Hope.

TRUTH SEEKER: In spite of the hopelessness of others, I will choose hope.  Even when others defame me, I will cling to the knowledge of who I am in Him.  If I so choose, d-d-despair will no longer rule over m-m-me.

CHORUS ONE:  To quiet the spirit of despair that threatened to overtake her, she sang, as her own,  the first song of Eternal Hope.

TRUTH SEEKER:    I am arising, My beloved.

I am Your child.  I am arising in You.

I will spring to the heights with You.

I will soar in your liberty.

I will ascend to your dreams.

I will come out of my valleys,

Beyond the mountain tops.

I will seek for the stars.

I will reach for the cosmos.

I will dance in the glory of now.

I will dance in the promise of tomorrow.

Though ravaged by time

And the machinations of man,

The foundations born of fire

Still stand.

I will build on the past.

Yet walk in the present.

And aspire the eternal.

I am coming, my King,

I am coming to dance in the stars with You.

CHORUS TWO: Just when her trepidation began to ease; just when a glimmer of hope began once more to rise within her, a howling foul-smelling force hissed and growled its way passed her and turned to glare into her fearful eyes.  (Nay Sayer enters.)

NAY SAYER:   I despise, despise thee.  S-s-s-s-s-s.” 

CHORUS TWO: Just as he bristled up to attack, Eternal Hope poured forth His magnificence as a shield over Truth Seeker.  (Eternal Hope enters and dances around Truth Seeker.) Nay Sayer was thrown down.  He whimpered and cowered before the one he despised.

          The spirit of fear gave up to a spirit of anger within Truth Seeker. 

TRUTH SEEKER: (screaming)  Eternal Hope, if You desire this wretched one to be loved, You’ll have to love him.  I don’t want to love him.  I don’t want to love him, not even for You.  He is evil, foul, cruel and utterly despicable.

ETERNAL HOPE:    My dear, you have spoken the facts, but you are a seeker of truth.  Truth is the “why” of the facts.  Seek to know why Nay Sayer is evil, foul, cruel and utterly despicable.

TRUTH SEEKER: (Trying to control her emotions) Why, my King, why is this one so terribly loathsome.

ETERNAL HOPE:    He is the way he is because he has believed untruth.  Those whom he trusted, those who should have loved him and spoken truth to him have betrayed him by speaking untruth over him.

TRUTH SEEKER:  What untruth did they speak?

ETERNAL HOPE:    They spoke that he is unworthy and, yet,  more worthy than others because even if he lacks intelligence, wisdom and giftedness, he is more intelligent, wise, and gifted than others.   They spoke that his heritage was pitiful and, and the same time, greater than the heritage of others,  that all he does is wrong, but more right than what others do, and because of who he is, that only he should prosper, and that his prosperity rightfully depends on the works of others because the labor of others belongs to him because he is more worthy. Worst of all, they denied him his right to be himself.  They spoke that he must be an intellectual and spiritual clone of them.  What they like, he must like.  What they think, he must think. What they aspire for him, he must aspire for himself.

TRUTH SEEKER:    What do they aspire for him?

ETERNAL HOPE:    Nothing.

TRUTH SEEKER:    Then he is without hope.

ETERNAL HOPE:    Yes, and life has not confirmed what he has believed about himself.  No matter how he tries to convince himself otherwise, he sees those around him who are intelligent, wise and gifted.   He sees those whose heritage he considers inferior accomplishing their dreams.  He is frustrated when his vision of what is right is thwarted by righteousness.  Bile rises up in him when he sees those that he believes to be lesser than he prosper.  He spews forth that bile when those who are prospering resent him for his belief that what they have labored for belongs to him.  Because others to do not agree with him, he sees them as ignorant fools, and, so, Nay Sayer is alone and lonely.  His anger has obfuscated his destiny.  In his anger, he cannot see his own beauty and giftedness.

TRUTH SEEKER:    Why did those who should have loved him speak such untruth over him?

ETERNAL HOPE:  To shackle him to their will.  To become his gods.

TRUTH SEEKER:    Why did he accept such untruth?

ETERNAL HOPE:    Because they spoke what he wanted to hear.  They tickled his ears, and he accepted.  He desired their words, and whatever we desire will rule over us.

TRUTH SEEKER:  So, he has become a slave to his own deception and his desire for more deception.

ETERNAL HOPE:    Yes, and deception as a master leads one to destruction.  Truth as a master leads one freedom.

TRUTH SEEKER:    Is dancing amongst the stars with You the ultimate freedom?

ETERNAL HOPE:    Yes, Beloved, it is the ultimate freedom.

TRUTH SEEKER:    Oh, Eternal Hope, I so want to dance amongst the stars with you.  I know that in order to do that, I must be a vessel of your love to Nay Sayer, but, of my own, I cannot.  My heart is too wounded.

ETERNAL HOPE:    I will give you the words to speak, and as you speak My words of love over him, you will heal.  The more of My words you speak over him, the more healing will come to  you.  You will be surprised by My love words.  He will be more surprised.  My love words are truth and that truth can set you both free.

TRUTH SEEKER:    Will he accept your love words? Will you force him to accept them?

ETERNAL HOPE:    Forcing him to accept would not prove wise.  It would then be an acceptance without roots that would fly away in the first gust of adversity.  No, the decision to accept must be his and his alone. (Eternal Hope produces a flaming coal that he touches to the lips of Truth Seeker). Allow the purity of my words to flow through you.

COMMENTATOR ONE:     What will Truth Seeker speak?  I am afraid for her.

COMMENTATOR TWO:    Hush, don’t be afraid.  She is surrounded and strengthened by Eternal Hope.

CHORUS TWO:      As she started once more down the path, she had to pass the cowering, whimpering Nay Sayer.  A sense of pity welled up within her.  She reached out her hand to touch his forehead.  He bristled and hissed. 

TRUTH SEEKER: (gently)  “My dear Nay Sayer, I bring you no harm, but you must remember that I am in covenant with Eternal Hope, and you cannot bring harm to me without harming yourself.  (She breaks off a piece of her bread for him and leaves it and a flagon of wine within his reach.  He hurls them away and spits in the direction of Truth Seeker.  Then he cowers further into himself while Truth Seeker exits.)

COMMENTATOR ONE:     Has she seen the last of Nay Sayer?

COMMENTATOR TWO:    No.  Nay Sayer may be confused and afraid, but he doesn’t give up easily.

Scene Three

CHORUS TWO:      Thwarted, but still willing to play his painful game, Nay Sayer again lighted the fire on his makeshift altar and again called on the gods who had betrayed him, the gods who had shackled him with his own desire, the gods that manipulated him not for any gain but for the evil pleasure of watching him suffer. 

NAY SAYER:   Speak to me again, you evil, vengeful seekers of my destruction.  Speak to me again of my desires.  Tell me how to frustrate this she, this seeker of truth.

CHORUS TWO:      From the mouth of the cave, a dry, fetid wind burst forth and extinguished the fire on the altar.  Nay Sayer shrank in fear.  Stillness reigned in the darkness.  Trembling, Nay Sayer waited.  Then he heard the wind speaking the words he wanted Truth Seeker to hear.  He heard the birds chirping the song he wanted Truth Seeker to sing. He heard the brook babbling the confusion he wanted Truth Seeker to feel.  He gloated, and his gloat arose as gorge and nearly choked him.  

          He remembered the gentle words of Truth Seeker.

TRUTH SEEKER: (off stage) You cannot bring harm to me without harming yourself.

CHORUS TWO:  He shook off the memory and dragged himself onward to watch as the forces of nature around her spoke to Truth Seeker.

COMMENTATOR ONE:  Can Truth Seeker know that the voices she will hear to do not speak truth?

COMMENTATOR TWO: She will if she chooses to follow the words of Eternal Truth.

COMMENTATOR ONE:  It’s all a matter of faith, isn’t it?

COMMENTATOR TWO: Yes, young one, it is all a matter of faith.

         

CHORUS ONE:  As Truth Seeker continued on her path, the way seemed smoother; the air freshened.  The breeze delighted her cheeks and fluffed her hair.  As it flowed past her ears, it spoke.

BREEZE: (solo from the chorus) Truth Seeker, Nay Sayer is crafty.  He knows ways that are unknown to Eternal Hope.  He knows ways of darkness that Eternal Hope cannot see.  Nay Sayer can bring things into your path from which Eternal Hope cannot protect you.

TRUTH SEEKER: No, no.  That cannot be true.  Eternal Hope is my protection.

BREEZE:  Just because you choose to believe something doesn’t make it true.

CHORUS TWO:  To elude the words of the wind,  Truth Seeker ran to the lee side of a large oak.  Breathing deeply, she held onto the tree to catch her breath and ease her mind.  The tree offered no protection.  High in its branches the mockingbirds called:

MOCKING BIRDS: (trio from the chorus)  Does Eternal Hope truly love you?  Will He give you the desires of your heart?  Why doesn’t He call off the advances of Nay Sayer?  Why doesn’t He simply transport you to the stars and away from the harassment of the one who despises you? Why not? Why not? Why not?

CHORUS TWO: Truth Seeker covered her ears and ran further down the path.  The babbling brook accompanied her on its course. 

BROOK: (a solo from the chorus) He loves you?  He loves you not.  He protects you?  He puts you in the midst of peril because He chooses to.  He sends you dreams and visions?  Does He not also send you nightmares?  If He knows everything, why doesn’t He simply reveal to you the place where your Joy lies waiting for rescue?  Why doesn’t He rescue her Himself?  Why?  Why?  Why?

TRUTH SEEKER (stage whisper) Eternal Hope, I will not doubt your kindness, your goodness, you faithfulness.  I will not fear.  I will not fear.  I will not fear.

ETERNAL HOPE: (off stage) 

          Arise, My child.

Spring to the heights with Me.

Soar in My liberty.

Ascend to My dreams.

CHORAL ONE: Peace came upon and around her.  The breeze now sang a anthem to Eternal Hope.  The mockingbirds trilled their love for their Creator, and the babbling brook again became a stream of living water.  Truth Seeker girded up her faith and went forward.     

COMMENTATOR ONE: What happened?

COMMENTATOR TWO: Power is released in faith.

COMMENTATOR ONE:  What is released in fear?

COMMENTATOR TWO:  More fear.

                                                                     

Scene Four

(Nay Sayer enters.)

CHORUS ONE:  Nay Sayer was mystified.   Truth Seeker was proving herself to be a formidable opponent.  His major weapon in the past had been intimidation, but Truth Seeker didn’t seem to be intimidated.  A force radiated from her that he didn’t understand and that he appeared to be powerless against.

          He went again to the cavern of evil, again lighted a fire upon the altar, and again called forth the evil spirits that hated him as much as he hated them.

 

NAY SAYER: Powers of darkness, speak, speak to me your groveling, hateful bond servant.  I know that if we destroy the one who seeks truth, we can destroy truth itself.  Tell me, what is my weapon?  Fear is powerless against her faith.

CHORUS TWO:  A stench that once more threw him to the earth preceded the voice of his gods.  He crouched behind the altar and waited for the roar of  words to come forth from the cavern.  The voice was at once surprisingly gentle and weirdly sardonic,  

SOLO FROM THE CHORUS: If fear is powerless, perhaps flattery will prevail.

CHORUS ONE:  How strange. How strange.  Nay Sayer could not see himself as a flatterer, but perhaps flattery should be his weapon of choice in this battle.

          Resolved to change his strategy, he tidied his appearance and waited at the side of the road for Truth Seeker to pass.  (Truth Seeker enters.)

          Soon his quarry came near.  He stepped before her and bowed. 

NAY SAYER: Truth Seeker, I see that I cannot defeat you.  I see a power in you that draws me to your side.  I ask your forgiveness.  I choose to walk beside you.  Please allow me to be your companion on the path.

CHORUS ONE:  Truth Seeker could not believe what was happening.  Such a short time ago, Nay Sayer had refused her gift of bread and wine.  Now, he was seeking her company.  Something arose in her spirit.  She heard a quiet voice speaking from within her innermost being.

ETERNAL TRUTH: (off stage)  Look into his spirit.  Be cautious, My Love, and look into his spirit and then into his soul. Be cautious, but remember you are a vessel of My love.

TRUTH SEEKER: (quietly)  Please, anoint me with your with your Holy Oil, that I may be empowered to see into his spirit and his soul.

CHORUS ONE:  Immediately, the aroma of frankincense and myrrh filled the air.  She felt the oil touch her forehead and run down her cheeks, down her body, to the hem of her gown. 

          She faced Nay Sayer and looked into the blackness of his spirit.  She saw the spirit of flattery. She saw the desperation of his soul.  She saw his desire to conquer her.  She recoiled.  She remembered her calling as a vessel of Eternal Hope’s love to this one.  She steeled herself to rebuke the flattering spirit.

TRUTH SEEKER:   Of course, Nay Sayer, you may walk beside me, but I will not allow you to choose my path.  I will walk only in the way Eternal Hope chooses for me.

NAY SAYER: Truth Seeker, I want to hear your heart.  I want to know the words you speak that empower you.  I know that you are one of mercy and compassion, I know that you desire my well-being and not my defeat.  In your compassion and mercy, you will give me the desire of my heart.

TRUTH SEEKER:    Hush, Nay Sayer.  My being is defined by Eternal Hope.  I know who I am in Him.  My worth is in Him.  My words are from Him.  I give only what He desire me to give.

NAY SAYER:  What does He want you to give to me?

TRUTH SEEKER:   His love.

NAY SAYER:   How will you give me His love.?

TRUTH SEEKER:    That, Nay Sayer, I must learn.

CHORUS TWO:  Nay Sayer turned his face to hide his anger and his disappointment.  She saw, though.  She saw anger in his spirit and disappointment in his soul.  Her compassion stirred, but she gave nothing because she did not know what to give. 

(Nay Sayer and Truth Seeker exit.)

COMMENTATOR ONE:  How does Eternal Love give His love?

COMMENTATOR TWO:  He gives what we need, not necessarily what we think we desire.  He gives at the root of our need so that we can be healed to need no more.

COMMENTATOR ONE:  How can we become vessels of His love?

COMMENTATOR TWO:  We must listen to His heart.

Scene 5

(Nay Sayer and Truth Seeker enter.)

CHORUS ONE:  The strange twosome soon came to a garden surrounded by a high stone wall.  From within the garden came the sounds of children at play–the happy, carefree sounds of children who accepted themselves and accepted one another.  Truth Seeker and Nay Sayer peered through the gate.

TRUTH SEEKER:    Look, Nay Sayer, see the children? Aren’t they delightful?

NAY SAYER:  Delightful? Look at them.  See that one with the ball?  He runs with such an awkward gait, he shouldn’t be allowed to play.   That girl with the braids can’t catch anything.  Only a fool would want her on his team.

TRUTH SEEKER:    They are just children playing.  They are enjoying the game.

NAY SAYER:  Games aren’t to be enjoyed.  Games are to be won.  Only those who are capable of winning and willing to win should be allowed to play.

TRUTH SEEKER:  But, Nay Sayer, they are just children playing in the garden.

NAY SAYER:  Only the superior should be allowed to play.

TRUTH SEEKER:    Are you allowed to play?

NAY SAYER: I am the superior one.  I make the decisions about who can play.

TRUTH SEEKER:    Whom do you choose?

NAY SAYER: I choose none.  None are good enough.

TRUTH SEEKER:  So, you play alone?

NAY SAYER:  I don’t play at all.

TRUTH SEEKER:    You have never enjoyed the laughter that these children now enjoy?

NAY SAYER:  That laughter is rubbish.  Laughter is for fools.  We, the superior, have no time for laughter.  We have time only for winning.

TRUTH SEEKER:    You say “we.”  Who else is superior?

NAY SAYER:  Only those who recognize my superiority.

TRUTH SEEKER:    And who are those?

(Nay Sayer snarls, slams his paw against the gate and hurries on.

During the following dialogue, he skulks around the periphery of the stage. Truth Seeker pauses for another moment to watch the children.)

TRUTH SEEKER:   Eternal Hope, has Nay Sayer ever played with anyone?

ETERNAL HOPE: (off stage)  Not really.  Those few he once choose to play with grew weary of his bullying and his disdain and left him for those that he had not allowed to play.  Superiority is a hard task master.  Superiority breeds the bleakest kind of loneliness.

TRUTH SEEKER:  Why is that?

ETERNAL HOPE:    The moment superiority accepts another, he becomes equal and can no longer conceive himself as superior.  The one who feels that he is superior is doomed to loneliness.

TRUTH SEEKER: Nay Sayer does not accept me.

ETERNAL HOPE:    No, but he feels less lonely in your company.

TRUTH SEEKER:    Then I must hurry to him.

ETERNAL HOPE:    Yes, you must be the vessel of My love for him.

(Truth Sayer hurries down the path.  When Nay Sayer hears her footsteps behind him, he slows his pace.  When she come alongside him, he growls, but he falls in step with her.  They exit.) 

         

COMMENTATOR ONE:  Was Truth Sayer one of the children who was not allowed to play?

COMMENTATOR TWO:  Perhaps she was.  Perhaps, because she is in covenant with Eternal Hope, she understands the pain of not being allowed to play. She senses the pain through the heart of her beloved.

COMMENTATOR ONE: I understand that pain.  I have been one who was not allowed to play.

COMMENTATOR TWO: You understand that pain.  But can you understand the pain of those who rejected you?

COMMENTATOR ONE:     I want to understand.

Scene 6

(Truth Seeker and Nay Sayer enter.)

NAY SAYER: I’m hungry.  I’m weary.  This isn’t what I expected when I chose to walk beside one who is in covenant with Eternal Truth.  My gods feed me.  My gods do not make me labor.  My gods give me what I ask for.  Is this the way Eternal Truth shows His love?  You are as hungry and weary as I.

TRUTH SEEKER:  When I am truly hungry, He feeds me.  When I am truly weary, He gives me rest.  He feeds more than the hunger in my stomach.  He feeds the hunger in my spirit as well.  He gives me more than rest for my weary limbs.  He gives also me rest for the weariness of my soul.

NAY SAYER: I don’t care about my spirit or my soul.  I care about my stomach.

NAY SAYER: Look, Nay Sayer, look over there.  See the manna fields white and ready for harvest.  Eternal Truth has guided us into the way of His blessing.  Come, help me gather manna for our dinner.  Then we can fill our stomachs and rest our weariness.  Eternal Truth as never left me without sustenance.

NAY SAYER: We have to gather our own food?  What kind of blessing is that? My gods place the food before me.  They do not expect me to gather my own.  Gathering my own food is beneath me.  Go quickly now.  Gather for both of us.  I will settle in the shade of this grove and rest for both of us.

CHORAL ONE:  Truth Seeker was taken aback for a moment.  However, she knew that love often demands sacrifice, so she agreed.  She went into the field to gather for both herself and Nay Sayer.  As she filled her bag, the breath of Eternal Truth touched her.  

ETERNAL TRUTH: (off stage) Truth Seeker, let’s visit about the nature of love.  Think for a moment, and then answer this question for me.  Is giving something that will bring harm an act of love?

TRUTH SEEKER:    No, my Lord.  That would not be love.  If I give this manna to Nay Sayer, will it harm him.  Is it poisonous or unhealthy?

ETERNAL TRUTH:  My child, the manna is most healthy.  The manna is life-giving.  The manna itself will not harm Nay Sayer.  It is the act of giving it to him that is harmful.

TRUTH SEEKER:  How can that be?

ETERNAL TRUTH: Is Nay Sayer capable of gathering his own manna?

TRUTH SEEKER:  Physically, he is capable, but his gods have taught him that he shouldn’t have to gather manna.  His manna should be gathered by others and placed before him because gathering manna is beneath him.

ETERNAL TRUTH:  Then his belief system has impoverished him.  His gods have both enslaved him and left him destitute.  The only way he can survive is to enslave others and leave them destitute.

TRUTH SEEKER:  I don’t understand.

ETERNAL TRUTH:  Think once again.  If you give him manna today, how will he secure the manna he needs for tomorrow?

TRUTH SEEKER:    I will have to gather manna for him tomorrow.

ETERNAL TRUTH:  What will happened if you cannot gather manna for him tomorrow?

TRUTH SEEKER:  He will go hungry.

ETERNAL TRUTH:  What if he desires to eat both the manna you gather for him and the manna that you gather for yourself?

TRUTH SEEKER: Then, I will go hungry.

ETERNAL TRUTH:  He is young and impoverished now.  What will happen if you continue to gather manna for him until he is old?

TRUTH SEEKER:  He will be old and impoverished.

TRUTH SEEKER:    What if he continues to eat both your manna and his until you also are old?

TRUTH SEEKER:  We will both be old and impoverished.

ETERNAL TRUTH:  He will then have enslaved you and left you destitute just as he is enslaved and destitute.   One more question.  If you continue to give all the manna to Nay Sayer until you have no extra, what will happen when you meet someone who is physically or emotionally unable to gather manna?  What will you have to give to someone who is truly needy?

TRUTH SEEKER:  If that happens, I will have nothing to give to the truly needy.  Oh, Eternal Hope, I understand.  If I give to someone who is not truly needy, it will keep him impoverished, it will impoverish me, and it will impoverish the one who is truly needy.  It is not an act of love to give manna that I have gathered to one like Nay Sayer who is able to gather his own manna.

ETERNAL TRUTH:  In love, Truth Seeker, you must close your ears to the spirit within Nay Sayer that seeks to keep him impoverished.  Close your ears and open your heart.  Demand that he gather his own manna.

TRUTH SEEKER:  And if he refuses?

ETERNAL TRUTH:  Let him continue to feed on his deception.  Perhaps it will create a hunger in him that will set him free.

CHORUS ONE: Truth Seeker continued into the field.  She gathered for herself and extra to put aside to bless someone who was truly needy.  She brought her bag of manna back to the grove where she had left Nay Sayer.  She sat down near him, opened her store and ate.  Nay Sayer watched for just a moment before giving into his temper.

NAY SAYER:  Where is my manna?  You have much manna.  It is selfish of you to refuse me manna that you have received so abundantly.  Is that a manifestation of the love of Eternal Hope?  I am sure that He is disappointed in you as His servant.  You have most assuredly broken covenant with Him.

TRUTH SEEKER:    The manna is abundant, Nay Sayer.  You need only to walk through the field and gather for yourself.

NAY SAYER:  I cannot gather for myself.  I wasn’t created to gather for myself.  It is not my destiny to gather for myself.  You were created to gather for me.  It is your destiny to gather for me.  If you do not gather for me, you will not fulfill your destiny.

TRUTH SEEKER:    Nay Sayer, my destiny is to show you the love of Eternal Hope.  His love will not enable you to depend upon others for what you should do for yourself.  It is that dependency that keeps you impoverished in body, soul and spirit.  Set yourself free.  Gather some manna so that you may eat and be satisfied by your own efforts.

CHORUS TWO:      Nay Sayer growled at her and crawled away mumbling to himself.  He mumbled and whined continuously through the night.  Truth Seeker covered her ears against the tirade of anger, disappointment and fear.  She cried out to Eternal Hope.

TRUTH SEEKER:   Can’t I give him just a bit of manna so that he will eat and I can sleep?

ETERNAL HOPE:    Is it loving to keep him in bondage for your own comfort?  If you do,  you will be no better than the gods who have enslaved him.  I am your comfort and your rest.  I am your strength.  Do as you have done before and speak my words from your spirit into your soul.  Then you will not be in anguish over the grumbling of Nay Sayer.

TRUTH SEEKER:  It is not love to give what will bring harm.  It is not love to give what will bring harm.  It is not love to give what will bring harm.”

CHORUS ONE:  With the words, her soul found peace, and she fell asleep.

COMMENTATOR ONE:  I did not know that giving something good can bring harm. I did not know that receiving something good can impoverish both the receiver and the giver.

COMMENTATOR TWO:    Eternal Hope truly knows what love is and does.

                                                                 

Scene 7

CHORUS ONE:       In the morning, Nay Sayer arose early and went into the manna field before Truth Seeker had awakened.  He quietly ate his fill and then returned to his resting place to wait for Truth Seeker to arise and greet the new day. (Truth Seeker stirs.)

NAY SAYER: (snarling) How can you sleep when I am weakened with hunger.  Yesterday, I might have been able to gather manna, but today I am too frail to enter the field.  You must gather manna for me or I shall die.

TRUTH SEEKER:  If I must, I will carry you to the manna field, but you must reach up, even with your last bit of energy and pick the manna for yourself.  If you have the strength to chastise me, you must have enough to feed yourself.  Here, let me carry you to the field. (She reaches a hand out to help Nay Sayer.)

NAY SAYER:  Don’t touch me.  If you cared, you would give me the manna that remains in your bag.

TRUTH SEEKER:    That manna is for the truly needy that I shall perhaps meet on the way.

NAY SAYER:  What if you do not meet any truly needy?

TRUTH SEEKER:    The truly needy are always among us.  To take what should be theirs is a sacrilege.

NAY SAYER:   Not where my gods are concerned.  (He starts down the road ahead of her.) (Eternal Hope enters from the opposite side.)

TRUTH SEEKER:  Eternal Hope, why does Nay Sayer not gather manna that is so readily available when he is desperately hungry.

ETERNAL HOPE:    He is not desperately hungry.  He did gather.

TRUTH SEEKER:  When?

ETERNAL HOPE:  Before you awakened.

TRUTH SEEKER:  Why didn’t he tell me?

ETERNAL HOPE:  If you know that he gathered and satisfied his hunger, he will not be able to abuse your compassion.

TRUTH SEEKER:    I don’t understand why he is unwilling to gather for himself the bounty that You have abundantly placed before us.

ETERNAL HOPE:    Apprehend him, and ask him.

          (Truth Seeker gatherS her belongings and rushes down the road to walk again with Nay Sayer.)

TRUTH SEEKER:   Nay Sayer!  Nay Sayer!  Slow down.  I wish to learn more of your heart.

         

CHORUS TWO:  Those words surprised Nay Sayer.  Not even he wanted to learn more of his heart.  He shivered a bit, but he slowed his pace.  Panting, Truth Seeker fell into step with him.

TRUTH SEEKER:    So, Nay Sayer, you gathered manna early this morning.  You are not weak from hunger after all.

NAY SAYER:  How do you know?

TRUTH SEEKER:  Eternal Hope told me.  Why didn’t you want me to know?

NAY SAYER:  I can gather for myself, but I shouldn’t have to gather for myself.  Even if I can gather for myself, it is beneath me.  You are much more suited to gather than I.  You are more experienced in gathering than I.  You are a gatherer.  I am a philosopher.  My reflections add to worldly wisdom.  Gathering interrupts my thinking and deprives society of my meditations.  You must gather for me so that I can spend my time in speculation.  If I am forced to gather for myself, all of society will suffer.

TRUTH SEEKER:  Suffer from what?  Tell me some of the thoughts of your heart.

NAY SAYER:  Well, one of the tenets that I live by is that those who are superior are worthy of the proceeds from the labor of those who are inferior.

TRUTH SEEKER:  How does one become superior?

NAY SAYER:  One simply knows and declares himself as superior.

TRUTH SEEKER:  How does one know?

NAY SAYER:  He senses it in his soul and seeks the confirmation of the gods of the cavern.

TRUTH SEEKER:  Do some recognize you as superior and give you the fruit of their labors?

NAY SAYER:  No.  I must deceive, connive and steal to receive the fruit of their labors.  It is so unfair.

TRUTH SEEKER:  Why hasn’t your deceit, conniving and theft made you wealthy and happy?

NAY SAYER:  Because the gods of the cavern then deceive, connive and steal the fruit of other’s labor from me.

TRUTH SEEKER:  You have failed in your deceit and conniving in your walk with me.  I have refused to gather manna for you.  Do you now plan to steal from me?

NAY SAYER:  Of course.  I will have to steal from you.  Individuals like you deny my superiority and refuse to give me the fruit of your labor.  You constrain me to steal from you.

TRUTH SEEKER:  Will the fruits you steal from me make you rich and happy?

NAY SAYER:  Of course not.  The gods of the cavern will deceive, connive and steal them from me.

TRUTH SEEKER:  If you gather sustenance for yourself, will the gods of the cavern be able to take it from you?

NAY SAYER:  Of course not.

TRUTH SEEKER:  Then why are you not willing to gather for yourself?

NAY SAYER:  Because if I gather for myself, I will no longer be superior.

TRUTH SEEKER:  So, your philosophy is that I should feed your sense of superiority so that you may remain enslaved to the gods of the cavern.

NAY SAYER:  No more.  You confuse me.  I am not enslaved.  Those such as yourself have forced me to deceive, connive and steal.

TRUTH SEEKER:  We can all choose to deceive, connive and steal, but what does it profit?”

NAY SAYER:  No more.

          (The two exit  in silence.)

COMMENTATOR ONE:     Did Nay Sayer’s early morning gathering profit him?

COMMENTATOR TWO:    It profited him for the moment, and that is more than his deception, conniving and theft ever profited him.

Scene 8

          (Late in the afternoon, just before time to again gather the manna of Eternal Truth)

NAY SAYER:  Truth Seeker, do you wish to have more manna for yourself and for the truly needy without so much labor?  It is almost time to gather.  I have a strategy.  I will gather for my needs, and you gather for yourself and extra for the truly needy.  If you then give me the extra, I will give it as an offering to the gods of the cavern, and they will increase its worth.

TRUTH SEEKER:  Do they always increase the worth of your offerings?

NAY SAYER:  I have too little to offer them.  But, if I offer the extra that you gather, it will be enough to encourage them to increase its worth.    My heart is changing.  I want to come into agreement with you.  I want to assist you in your search for truth.  Look deeply into my eyes which are the windows of my soul.  You will see the heart I have for you and for the truly needy.

TRUTH SEEKER:    My dear Nay Sayer, do you not understand that Eternal Hope has empowered me to look into both your spirit and your soul.  When I look deeply into your eyes, I still see the anger in your spirit and the disappointment in your soul.  The gods of the cavern have indeed increased your offering.  You have offered them your anger and your disappointment, and they have increased that anger and disappointment.

NAY SAYER: (weeping)  I am disappointed, Truth Seeker.  I am disappointed that even after this time together you do not trust me. I am angry because you refuse my offer.  You have wounded me, Truth Seeker. I say again that you are not fulfilling your destiny to be a vessel of Eternal Hope’s love for me.  I weep for you.

 

TRUTH SEEKER:  You do not weep for me, Nay Sayer, you weep for yourself.  You weep in self anger and self disappointment.  The love of Eternal Hope causes us to look into our own spirits and souls and to find the truth not only of who we are but also the truth of who we can become. I know those tears.  I know those tears because I have wept them for myself.  (She holds Nay Sayer in her arms.)

CHORUS ONE:   She put a guard on her heart, but she held him in her arms and wept with him.  She wept for his anger and disappointment.  He wept because he both loved and hated his anger and disappointment.  He wept because he both loved and hated Truth Seeker.  He wept most of all because He both loved and hated Eternal Hope.  The gods of the cavern sneered and belched forth their foulness.  Before the eyes of Truth Seeker and Nay Sayer, Eternal Hope had quietly planted another field of manna for their evening meal.  (Eternal Hope enters, dances across the stage and exits.)

          Exhausted from their tears and their journey, they gathered new manna for their meal.  After their silent repast, Nay Sayer lay down in the guise of rest while Truth Seeker gathered extra manna.  Then she nestled down to sleep.

 

CHORUS TWO: As she slept, Nay Sayer slipped to her side, opened her bag and stole the provision for the truly needy.  As soon as he touched it, something strange occurred.  He watched in dismay as the manna disintegrated in his paws.  He watched in joy as it grew again in Truth Seeker’s bag.  He stole it again.  Again it disintegrated.  Again it grew.  Again he stole it.   And thus, he spend the night.  In the morning, in spite of his efforts, he had nothing.  In the morning, in spite of his efforts, Truth Seeker had lost nothing.

         

COMMENTATOR ONE:  Will Nay Sayer learn?

COMMENTATOR TWO:    I hope so.  Truth Seeker hopes so.  Only Eternal Hope knows.

                                                           

Scene 9 

         

CHORUS ONE:  Their journey continues.  As they came to the rim of a mountain and peered into the darkened valley below, Truth Seeker’s bag nearly burst with the extra manna she had gathered.  From the valley below came the cries of the truly needy. 

TRULY NEEDY: (solo from Chorus) Help us.  Someone, please descend into the valley and help us.  We have tried, but we are unable to help ourselves.  Show Your love and Your mercy, O Eternal Hope.  Please send someone to help us.

CHORUS TWO: Truth Seeker hurried to the head of the cleared track leading down into the valley.   Nay Sayer pushed her out of the way and stood in pathway to prevent her entrance into the valley.

        

NAY SAYER: (in desperation) Don’t, Truth Seeker, don’t go down into the valley.  You have only one bag of manna.  It could not possibly meet all the needs of the valley.  It would be wiser to give the bag to me.  It will meet my needs for awhile.  I have been your faithful traveling companion.  I am more deserving.

CHORUS ONE:  Truth Seeker brushed him out of the way and descended in slope.  As she came closer, she heard more clearly the petitions to Eternal Hope. 

TRULY NEEDY:  We are weary, ill, hungry, thirsty, miserable and lonely.  Please, Eternal Hope, send Your messenger to bind our wounds and touch Your living water to our lips.  Send Your messenger to loose our chains and set us free.

TRUTH SEEKER:  Oh, Eternal Hope, thank You for sending me into the valley with Your provision.  While I have nothing to give on my own, I have all to give in you.

CHORUS TWO:      Truth Seeker walked through the streets of anguish.  She touched the ill, comforted the weary, eased the thirst and loneliness.  She gave of the manna within her bag.  She gave to the penniless mother of five; she gave to the bed-ridden grandmother; she gave to the disease ridden reprobate; she gave to the emaciated child; she gave to the unemployed father; she gave to the homeless; she gave to the depressed; she gave to the distressed; she gave out of the love and the heart of Eternal Hope and as she gave, the bag of manna remained full to bursting. 

          As the anguish lifted, the light of love flowed into the valley.  The cries of distress became the shouts of praise and jubilee. 

ALL:   Praise be unto Thee, Eternal Joy.

          Praise be unto Thee

          For Thou art holy, loving and true.

          Thou hast heard the cries of Thy children.

          Thou hast sent Thy healing manna.

          Thou, alone, art our Comfort.

          Thou, alone, arr our Healer.

          Tou, alone, art our Provision.

CHORUS TWO:  From his vantage point, Nay Sayer watched Truth Seeker and those who had once been so needy dancing and singing in the sun-lit valley.  He noticed that even though Truth Seeker had given again and again of the manna, her bag remained full.

NAY SAYER: (aside) Aha, if I gather the manna and then give just some of it away, it will replenish itself.  If I continue to give just a bit of it away,  I will always have enough for myself without having to gather again.

CHORUS TWO:  He took a bag back to the manna field and filled it full to nearly bursting.  He returned to the top of the mountain just as Truth Seeker was ascending from the valley with her full bag. 

NAY SAYER:  Hurry, Truth Seeker!  Let’s move onto another valley.  I have watched you.  I know the secret of the manna.  If I give some away, more will grow in my bag.  I will just have to gather enough to insure that I will have my needs met and just a bit more to give away to make it grow again.  I know the secret.  I shall never again have to gather manna.

TRUTH SEEKER:    Oh, Nay Sayer, the manna harbors no secret.  The manna emanates truth.   You don’t know that truth.  What you think you know will not only enslave you, it will eventually destroy you.  Please, Nay-Sayer, be careful what you do with the manna.

NAY SAYER: (shouting in anger) You just don’t want me to prosper.  You ceaselessly stand in my way.  You do not recognize my superiority.  You refuse to give me of your manna.  You have forced me to gather when it is beneath me. You have forced me to steal from you.  Now you don’t want me to give so that my manna will increase.  Again, I tell you, you are not fulfilling your destiny to be an instrument of Eternal Hope’s love for me.

TRUTH SEEKER:    It is His love for you that prompts me to caution you.

NAY SAYER:  Nonsense.

CHORUS ONE: The two continued on their journey.  Truth Seeker’s heart broke for the blind stubbornness within Nay Sayer.  She wept softly for him, but she could not dissuade him.

         

COMMENTATOR ONE:  Why does heart of Truth Seeker break for Nay Sayer?

COMMENTATOR TWO:    Because the heart of Eternal Hope breaks for him.

                                                                 

Scene Ten

         

CHORUS ONE:  The pathway soon opened into a meadow a bloom with daffodils.  Ash and oaks provided both shade and shelter for the travelers and the creatures who dwell there. In spite of, perhaps, because of the aura of darkness struggling to overcome the light, Truth Seeker’s spirit was unsettled.

TRUTH SEEKER: Eternal Hope, what is this unsettling?  Why is my spirit so disturbed?

ETERNAL HOPE: (off stage) You are right to be disturbed.  All is not as it appears to be.

Sit quietly and watch the consequence of greed and deception.

CHORUS TWO:  Truth Seeker sat quietly beneath an oak and watched Nay Sayer as he romped through the daffodils and occasionally disappeared into the trees.  She had never seen him so delighted.  Yet, she detected the faint odors of sulphur and decay.  Often, she felt that she saw something stealthy moving in the shadows.  Yet, it seemed that the flowers, the trees, and the delight of Nay Sayer remained unchanged. 

          Nay Sayer paid no attention to Truth Seeker.  He gave no attention to the flowers.  He gave no attention to the trees themselves.  He gave all his attention to the fleeting creatures hiding in trees.  They looked and sounded strangely familiar, but he could not remember when he had seen or heard them before.  They lured him with gentle voices.

          One spoke from behind as a knoll.

CREATURE ONE: (solo from Chorus)  Come here, Nay Sayer.  Shhhhh.  Quietly share your manna with me and I will give you something greater than manna.

NAY SAYER:  What is greater than the manna?

CREATURE ONE:  I cannot tell you.  Trust me.  Give me some manna, and you will see.

CHORUS TWO:      Nay Sayer quickly gave the creature a bit of the manna.  Before he could check his bag, another spoke.

CREATURE TWO: (solo from Chorus) Please let me tell you the secrets of power and glory.  A bit of your manna is a small price to pay for the secrets of the universe.

NAY SAYER: Oh, the secrets of the universe, the secrets of power and glory.  This is greater than the manna.”  (He dashes to the creature and fills his paws.)

 

CREATURE THREE: (solo from chorus) Psst, Nay Sayer.  Over here.  For a bit of the manna, I will open the door for you to find riches beyond even your heart’s desire.

CREATURE ONE:   Nay Sayer, for manna, I can give you wisdom beyond that of the gods of the cavern.

CREATURE TWO:  Don’t neglect me, Nay Sayer, for some of your manna, I will show you how to become a creature so handsome that none, not even Truth Seeker, will reject you.

CHORUS TWO:  The voices continued to call.  Nay Sayer happily rushed to each with his manna.  The voices hushed when the manna was exhausted.  Nay Sayer wailed when he saw both his empty bag and his empty hands.  The manna was gone, and he had gained nothing–no secrets, no power, no glory, no riches, no wisdom.   He wailed and beat his paws on the ground.  His distress brought Truth Seeker to his side.

NAY SAYER:  Truth Seeker, Eternal Hope has betrayed me.  I gave my manna and received nothing in return.  Is this the way Eternal Hope shows His love?  He does not love me, and He has sent you as a evil angel to destroy me.  Your destiny is not as a vessel of Eternal Hope’s love.  Your destiny is as a vessel of Eternal Hope’s destruction.

TRUTH SEEKER: Nay Sayer, Nay Sayer, I told you there was no secret to the manna.  I told you that you did not understand the truth of the manna.  Come and look at your reflection in this pond.  What do you see? 

          (Nay-Sayer joins her at the edge of the pond.)

NAY SAYER:  Is this my face?

TRUTH SEEKER:  It is.

NAY SAYER:  It is also the face of those to whom I gave my manna.

TRUTH SEEKER:    Nay Sayer, when given in the spirit of Eternal Hope, the manna blesses both the one who gives and the one who receives.  You did not give your manna to the truly needy.  You gave it to your own selfish desires.  Given selfishly, the manna profits no one.   You have nothing left, Nay Sayer, except your unsatisfied selfish desires.  Eternal Hope has not betrayed you.  You have betrayed yourself.  You have given your manna to the devourers.

CHORUS TWO:  Nay Sayer wailed anew.  The stench and hideous laughter of the gods of the cavern pervaded the meadow.  The sky darkened.  The trees dropped their leaves.  Their silhouettes appeared as gigantic monsters with multitudinous hands reaching out, reaching out, reaching out, but never grasping.  The wind wailed the desperation and hopelessness of Nay Sayer.  Eternal Hope’s voice warned through the rising pandemonium.

ETERNAL HOPE: (off stage)  Run, Truth Seeker.  Leave this place at once!

          A terrifying roar of thunder pelted Truth Sayer with sulphurous rain  as she pleaded with Nay Sayer to leave with her. 

TRUTH SEEKER:  Come, Nay Sayer.  Come away from this place.  The gods of the cavern are lashing out.  Come to a place of safety that Eternal Hope will show us.

NAY SAYER:  “No!! The gods of the cavern may be cruel, but I know what to expect from them–cruelty and misery.  I don’t understand Eternal Hope.  I know enough truth to see that Eternal Hope wants more for me than I want for myself.  I don’t want the responsibility of being more than I am.  I hate my bondage, but I won’t give it up. I hate my anger and my disappointment, but in them I know who I am.  I don’t like who I am, but I have come to accept it and the affliction that goes with it.  When I call on the gods of the cavern, they give me what I want.  I suffer for it, but I have come to expect and accept that suffering.

TRUTH SEEKER:  Eternal Hope, what am I to do?  He refuses to come with me.  How can I be a vessel of Your love if I leave him behind.

(Eternal Truth enters)

ETERNAL HOPE: Come, My child,        

Come, dance in the cosmos with Me;

          Then even those who refuse to dance will be blessed.

           Even those who are afraid to reach, those who do not respond

           And those who slumber will be blessed.

           Deny the call,

           And none will be touched with Truth.

ALL:   In the driving rain, thunder and lightning, Truth Seeker responded with words that she had spoken to Eternal Truth before she had begun her journey. 

TRUTH SEEKER:  You have sent to me a night vision, a cloud that rises above and, yet, blesses all that is beneath.  Oh, Eternal Hope, I desire to be one through whom others will be blessed. How can that happen if I leave Nay-Sayer in his misery?

ETERNAL HOPE:  If you come away from this place, you will find your Joy and you will become part of that cloud that rises about the ordinary.  Then the truth you will experience will reach down and bless even those who, as Nay Sayer has done, have rejected me.   If you stay, the gods of the cavern will devour your gifts just as they have devoured Nay Sayer’s.

CHORUS ONE:  Truth Seeker touched the forehead of Nay Sayer.  Growling and sputtering, he pulled away from her tenderness.  Truth Seeker sobbed as she left him there in the storm and followed her heart out of the turbulence, away from the devourers, and into her tomorrow.

COMMENTATOR ONE:  Is it too late for Nay Sayer?

COMMENTATOR TWO:  No, my child, it is not too late.  Eternal Truth’s  love can redeem our past, strengthen our present, and secure our future.