In the East,
They paint images of water lilies
Rising up out of bottom mud
Through dark water
To a breezy surface –
Where they blossom in beauty.

Who could imagine such natural elegance rising up out of mud –
One of nature’s more ecstatic surprises.

In the West,
Jesus taught we could be “born again”
And then was hung up to die.

Repeatedly, though, throughout his life he rose up out of himself –
Flowering as a “new type” of human being.

People felt awe at this, and reacted according to their individual character –
Those bending towards hope, followed him with joy,
While those responding out of fear or anger, simply disappeared.

Through Jesus, the world was exposed to a paradox –
That is, whether it’s actually possible to extinguish a “next-stage” human spirit –

The authorities learned, in their attempt to kill off this late-Axial Age spiritual dimension,
That their best efforts ended up only certifying Jesus
As an evolutionarily new human paradigm.

In fact, this turned out to be a variation of an old, old story –
Winning by losing –

Jesus’ best kept secret.