Seekers and the Path

What made us seekers?

What poked and prodded us from our comfort
to step onto the path and begin this journey?

Was it of earthquake proportion,
did the world around us shatter
and with no place to hide we set about this journey,
or was it quieter, almost silent,
the sound of one heart broken
when no one was watching?

I ask this with sincerity
as I sit and hear your teachings.

Were you battered and tossed about,
did the music stop and all the seats were taken,
or was it the red wings
of a black bird that caught your eye,
the rippling of the river,
the serenity under the Bodhi tree,
and curiosity led you by the hand
toward the mysteries of the way?

Before you think I am blinded by the troubles of my past,
I too gasp in wonder at the beauty I see around me.

My eyes rest on the treetops touching the blue, blue sky,
and I am in awe of the sight of deer along the path
as I am when I see the light of each soul
in the faces of our sangha.

So I ask you,
what brought your first footfalls to this path.