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+ + + ++ So the tribesmen lived only for the present, +because the present was full of surprises, and they had to be aware +of many things: Where was the enemy’s sword? Where was his +horse? What kind of blow should one deliver next in order to +remain alive? The camel driver was not a fighter, and he had +consulted with seers. Many of them had been right about what they +said, while some had been wrong. Then, one day, the oldest seer he +had ever sought out (and the one most to be feared) had asked why +the camel driver was so interested in the future. +“Well…so I can do things,” he had responded. “And so I can +change those things that I don’t want to happen.” +“But then they wouldn’t be a part of your future,” the seer had +said. +“Well, maybe I just want to know the future so I can prepare +myself for what’s coming.” +“If good things are coming, they will be a pleasant surprise,” said +the seer. “If bad things are, and you know in advance, you will suffer +greatly before they even occur.” +“I want to know about the future because I’m a man,” the camel +driver had said to the seer. “And men always live their lives based +on the future.” +The seer was a specialist in the casting of twigs; he threw them +on the ground, and made interpretations based on how they fell. +That day, he didn’t make a cast. He wrapped the twigs in a piece of +cloth and put them back in his bag. +“I make my living forecasting the future for people,” he said. “I +know the science of the twigs, and I know how to use them to +penetrate to the place where all is written. There, I can read the +past, discover what has already been forgotten, and understand the +omens that are here in the present. +“When people consult me, it’s not that I’m reading the future; I +am guessing at the future. The future belongs to God, and it is only +he who reveals it, under extraordinary circumstances. How do I +guess at the future? Based on the omens of the present. The secret is +here in the present. If you pay attention to the present, you can +improve upon it. And, if you improve on the present, what comes +later will also be better. Forget about the future, and live each day +according to the teachings, confident that God loves his children. +Each day, in itself, brings with it an eternity.” +The camel driver had asked what the circumstances were under +which God would allow him to see the future. +“Only when he, himself, reveals it. And God only rarely reveals +the future. When he does so, it is for only one reason: it’s a future +that was written so as to be altered.” +God had shown the boy a part of the future, the camel driver +thought. Why was it that he wanted the boy to serve as his +instrument? +“Go and speak to the tribal chieftains,” said the camel driver. +“Tell them about the armies that are approaching.” +“They’ll laugh at me.” +
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