RPC has moved! These pages have been kept for historical purposes

Jancis · **03-28-2015, 07:47 PM**

The sky stayed crisp and clear as the progression of pilgrims made it to Rathefrost, the shimmering grace of the crystallized tree and ground lighting up the area like a magical stage.

Against the faint glow the performers stood, everyone else resting amongst the few plants that survived in the harsh land.

"Be it we have many people who are gifted in the ways of words and verse. This being a special night for me, I would share some before they begin."

"A wise man said that 'The greatest gift you ever give is your honest self.' So, in turn, I shall give that today. This night holds great value to me for the closeness I feel to the Scholar."

"In my youth, I was isolated and knew very little. I built off of that, bit by bit, finding new ways to understand what I did know. In turn, I discovered new things and accepted them. I found something that could not be taken away from me. So I gathered it, gathered all I could. I found and understood that I was not alone. That my dreams and ideas had worth. That I could change."

"That within my heart, I found the courage to learn and discover, to open my horizons and find new possibilities ahead of me. And I was set free."

"That one small opportunity has given me wings that I might know you, know what family is, know what love could be. In all of it I have found out a shining thought for everything I come to see and know. Life is simple and deep."

Jancis repeats, "Simple and deep." She beams a smile at the crowd, her eyes shining. "I have a short story. There was a boy sailing down a river. And it was fun." She laughs a bit at the blunt statement, "It was playful and he enjoyed it. He looked around him and saw life, watched as plants grow, watched animals flourish."

"And this went on, the river turned and bent, days and nights passed. Winter brought frost and he saw something different. He saw plants wither, animals pass on. He reached out to them, to do more than look from afar. In doing so, he scrapped his hand upon the bank of the river. It hurt."

"And then he knew pain, which is a hard thing to know. And he cried; he drifted with the current and struggled to understand what he saw, what he had felt. As the pain began to lessen the realization came, he understood he was not a boy. He was a drop of water."

Jancis brings her fingers close together. "A drop of water in the river. One of many. He went down to the riverbed and looked up, and saw everyone who had held him up to learn the world. Their massive power to bend and shape the land, to smooth out the juts and obstacles, to find path through and around hardships. To nourish the ground and all that lived on it. To bring along the memories of those drops that flowed no longer."

"To pass on and hold up new drops that they could see and come to understand."

"He now was one to chose paths, made choices and moved the current. He touched the land and made his own marks, he touched others and gave them what he knew. Over the years and river-bends he was ready to soak into the earth and learn something new."

"And then he looked back. And behind him was nothing."

Jancis says with emotion, "He looked side to side, and there was everything."

â€œYou are not just the age you are. You are all the ages you ever have been!â€

"Like the river, you are vast. You will find a way around and over obstacles, smoothing out the rough patches and growing in strength. Other rivers will join and never truly leave. All you have done is there with you. Learn from it, understand it. Share it."

Jancis smiles at everyone, "Pray keep that in your heart as you look to the top of your river, that you see the shining triumph of being simple and deep."

"Thank you."

Celebration of The Scholar

RPC has moved! These pages have been kept for historical purposes