It surges into flight
Its wings are like the clouds that hang from the sky
This bird, when the ocean begins to heave
Will travel to the Southern Sea
The Southern Sea  -  the heavenly pond

This is the majestic beginning of Chuang Tzu's masterpiece. It paints a stirring image of a mythical creature springing into action. At the same time, it also gives us an intriguing riddle to decipher as we ponder its possible meanings.

Of course the Peng bird doesn't really exist as an animal, today or thousands of years ago, so it is obviously a metaphor and not a literal description. Chuang Tzu has chosen to present this metaphor without explicit explanations, leaving it up to us to divine his intent.

The Kun represents your soul in an initial, untapped state. The massive size of the Kun refers to the tremendous potential you possess. The Northern Sea is where you start out at first. It is a cold and dismal place, and you cannot see much in its murky depths. You are literally in the dark, swimming blindly. You are limited and, in a sense, trapped.

There are other fish in the Northern Sea as well, but they are far smaller. These are creatures that live a mundane existence, not suspecting that there is a greater world beyond the water. They have not glimpsed, as you have, this thing called the sky. In time, some of them will grow larger too, and begin to take an interest in the strange realm above the ocean. For the time being, you are the only one.

The fact that you are reading these words is all the reason you need to apply the metaphor to yourself. You have taken an interest in this strange realm beyond the mundane called Tao philosophy. You are different from almost everyone else you come across every day. They are content to live their mundane existence; you want something more. You are special.

Then, one day, it happens. There is a breakthrough. The Kun undergoes a magical transformation. The soul has attained critical mass, triggering a spiritual chain reaction. This is the key event; everything else depends upon it.

The transformation is a fundamental change, rather than a mere accretion in size, as before. Scales become feathers; fins become wings. The nature of the soul changes, as do the rules that apply to it.

The effect is irreversible: the Kun can turn into the Peng, but not the other way around. Once the soul has attained adulthood it does not regress back into childhood. An irrevocable understanding has dawned upon you, and you know things will never be the same again.

This massive metamorphosis happens for a reason, and that is to prepare the Peng for its great journey. You will be flying toward the Southern Sea, the place of light and warmth. This journey represents your sacred task in life. It may be a quest for a higher level of spiritual development; it may be a personal mission to give of your love to the utmost; it may be a call to reach out to others and connect with them across vast interpersonal chasms. Whatever it is, your journey toward the heavenly pond requires you to commit to something other than yourself and greater than yourself. This commitment is the true mark of virtue and an infinite source of personal fulfillment.

Then, the opportunity comes. The ocean begins to heave when the great winds blow across the waves. The might of this powerful wind is such that it allows even the Peng to take flight. You spread your wings. You flap these massive wings and splash water to a height of three thousand leagues. You begin beating your wings to generate a hurricane force, and you ride it up toward the sky until you are ninety thousand leagues above the ocean.

This departure is the soul transcending its previous limits and boundaries. The Peng rises high above the ocean, no longer bound by the water. You experience a sense of freedom and a burst of energy. You have broken out of your constraints; you have stepped outside the box.

The mighty winds  -  the opportunity  -  are the global megatrends affecting our lives in ways seen and unseen. We live in a historical nexus where advanced communication and transportation bring the East and the West closer and closer every day. From what we have seen so far, we can already tell that the fusion of the two produces a synergy of tremendous power. Is it any wonder that kindred spirits all over the world are awakening to the possibilities of a new Tao in the new millenium? The wind is picking up speed and moving across the entire world. The time for the journey is fast approaching.

The flight of the Peng is an awe-inspiring sight, its great speed matched only by its high altitude. It is so far above that, when it looks down, the world seems to disappear into a blue expanse. Everything fades into the hazy distance.

When you take flight on your personal journey, one of the things that change irrevocably is your perspective. Your sacred task confers upon you an expanded view of life. You see farther and your thinking tends to be long-term. This is because greater plans require greater vision, and your aspirations have elevated far beyond the pedestrian. From that vantagepoint, the petty struggles of daily life simply do not have the same significance they once had. They no longer bother you as they did before  -   in a real sense, they fade into the hazy distance.

Way down below, a cicada and a little bird laugh at the giant Peng flying overhead. The little bird says, "Look at me, I fly all-out and stop when I get to a tree. Sometimes I can't fly up quite so high and have to drop down to the ground. What's the use of rising up ninety thousand leagues and then flying toward the Southern Sea?"

As you continue on your journey, you will without a doubt encounter many who simply cannot understand your goals or your motivation. This should not surprise you, for they are still mired in the material world. Their concerns are small and immediate and have more to do with struggling through another day so they can go home and assume the couch potato position.

Like the cicada and the little bird, their perspective is limited. They give little thought to greater spiritual issues and, should the subject ever come up, respond with a programmed script of platitudes. This is, quite literally, as high as they can fly. If you ask too much of them, they will only fall back down to the ground. If and when they acquire the same perception and can see what you see, they will understand why you do what you do. Until then, expect puzzlement, perhaps even ridicule.

As you read these words, don't forget that everything here applies to you. Chuang Tzu's metaphor isn't mere idle abstraction; it is a finger pointed at you, asking exactly where you are in the great journey. Some of you may already be in flight, well on your way to the Southern Sea. Some of you are waiting for the right moment to surge into flight. The rest of you, perhaps most of you, are still swimming blindly in the Northern Sea, your massive potential as of yet untapped.

The journey beckons, great Kun. Are you ready for your transformation?