Born in Solitude: The Snow Leopard

He wanders lonely through a snow drift.
The cold crisp air pinkening his nose.
The clouds are below him, almost blue against the luminous crunch underfoot.
He delicately picks his way, cautious of the jagged rocks.
But he never halts, never startles, never strays from his course.
The determination in his features can almost be seen as a thought spoken out loud:

‘’There is only me. And I love myself. So I will keep on living. Always.’’

One day he meets a female.
They come upon each other, silently, face to face.
He looks straight into her eyes, and sees himself reflected back at him.
And he knows he isn’t perfect, but in that moment he has never felt so beautiful,
so magnificent, so divine.
And he hears her thought:

‘’There is only us. And I love us. So we will make more life. Eternally.’’

He leaves her behind to raise the unborn babies all on her own.
To survive he must be alone, no choice and no other options enter his mind.
He reaches an ice cave, and peers through the opening. The blue solidness is mesmerising.
The interior still and quiet. So quiet. A sapphire expanse of nothingness.
​He projects a thought into the space:

‘’There is only nothing. And I love nothingness. From nothing springs life. Timeless.’’

And his journey continues, over great distances.
In solitude his whole life.
He knows there is nothing else BUT this.
He and every snowflake are the same.
There is only one.
So solitude is all that exists.
And he has no fear of anything.
And as he lays in a cove of rock,
the world spread out far below him,
he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.
​The crisp air that has been his lifelong companion fills his lungs.
He sends out the thought with his final breath:

‘’There is only everything. And I love everything.
​My love is my life. Forever.’’