III. Upon that Road one wanders not alone. There is no rush, no hurry. And yet there is no time to lose. Each Pilgrim, knowing this, presses his footsteps forward, and finds himself surrounded by his fellowmen. Some move ahead; he follows after. Some move behind; he sets the pace. He travels not alone.
"Not alone." This goes to the heart of one of our deeply-felt fears and provides reassurance. We may not always be able to see our companions on the Road, perhaps because we are looking in the wrong place, perhaps because we are blinded by external forms, but they are all around us. The Road is where we start to find our group of fellow-workers, the group of souls with which we have a special relationship, the group which together will carry out some particular needed work. The Road is where we realise that there are other groups, also carrying out needed work, but using techniques and energies which are not appropriate for us at this time. Disciples are said to be reborn under group law - so that work started by a group in an earlier set of lives can be picked up again and the necessary karmic adjustments made.
"No hurry,... no time to lose". Before an object of beauty can be created there must always be suitable preparation. The idea must be clearly visioned in all its aspects; it must be made attractive for the widest range of energies needed to support it; it must be given a suitable form of expression. Buildings need foundations; their builders need skills: neither can be neglected if we are to create soundly and solidly. We need to consider all our work, whether construction or destruction, within the total cycle of our universe. There is a constant ebb and flow of energies playing on this planet and we need to be ready for the right moment to launch our work, whether it is on the mental plane, the emotional or the physical. Swimming against the tide is exhausting and frustrating.
What is lost time? Perhaps its clearest form is when we allow ourselves to do some activity which we know we have outgrown, which we know is a re-attachment to a form we have left behind. It is not time spent on rest or relaxation when these are part of an appropriate cycle. These form part of our own ebb and flow.
"Some move ahead,... some move behind." The opportunities for every person are different as every person's life experiences and capabilities are different. In one lifetime, a person's main task may be consolidation of gains made in an earlier life and progress may seem little. Another person may be emerging into a new service expression as a result of creative tension in an earlier life. Another may be preparing their resources for future usefulness. Dominant ray energies may assist one person attuned to these to move ahead while another slows down. In a different cycle other ray energies will change the situation again.
The Road mirrors the chain of Hierarchy, reaching from the lowest human activities to the highest spiritual initiatives. There are no gaps, no missing links. It is said that "all Lives upon or within the aura of the planetary Logos and of His manifested Body, the Earth, have been, are or will be in the future human beings, thereby establishing and demonstrating their past, present or future identity with humanity, the fourth kingdom in nature." One of our tasks as Pilgrims on the Road is to establish our own position and our next step forward.