Trust Unlimited

“You either trust or you do not,” M’nor [the moon] stated. “There is no halfway in between.”
~ The MoonQuest: A True Fantasy

That line, originally from The MoonQuest book and now also part of The MoonQuest screenplay, is both my most loved and hated one in the story. I love it and hate it for the same reason: It is one of the deepest truths I know and, after having lived many years of not trusting much of anything, profound and unconditional trust is the only way I now know to live my life...and, sometimes, the scariest.

Trust in what? In both The MoonQuest and my life, it's trust in that wiser, infinite power that's greater than what we know to be the human mind and body in its physical form. It's trust in an inner knowingness that, although innate, must still be awakened, fostered, nurtured and cultivated. Whether you call it God, Buddha, Allah, Infinite Source, Higher Self, Muse or the voice of your heart, we can all access it, because it lies within each of us -- a soul potential waiting to be sparked into passionate expression.

In The MoonQuest, that intuitive power is all that the main character has to guide him on his journey to bring storytelling back to a silenced land and light back to a darkened moon.

It's no different in life. Whatever rules, structures, systems, ruts and routines we're encouraged to adhere to -- by parents, education, culture, media or fear -- the right path is always the one that, in the end, can rely only on what we know in our hearts to be true.

"I am Tikkan Dreamwalker," Na'an said. "I speak only what you know in your heart to be true."

It's also no different in writing, or in any creative pursuit. There can be no hard-and-fast rules in art...or it's not art. It's a poor imitation of someone else's innovation.

“Ride north one league at a time," O'ric tells Toshar as the young man embarks on his MoonQuest. "The North Star will guide you at night. A path between the suns will guide you in the day. Your heart will guide you always.”

Our hearts do guide us always...when we're open enough to listen, still enough to hear and trusting enough to follow its path.

In the moment of choice, though, trust is rarely the most comfortable option. Often, it's downright terrifying because it seems to make no conventional sense. In the past, that terror paralyzed me, held me back from the hard choices...the trusting choices.

“You do not trust,” M’nor said. Disappointment shaded her voice. “You must either trust or abandon the quest. The choice is yours."

Had Toshar relied on a "common sense" that ignores the non-physical senses and on a "conventional" wisdom that is so rarely wise, he would never have completed the MoonQuest. Had I relied on those limited and limiting tools, there would have been no Toshar, nor would I now be engaged in one of the most exciting endeavors of my life so far: getting The MoonQuest onto the big screen.

Nothing about this film project makes any sense. Yet, here I am. Nothing about my life right now makes any sense. Yet, here I am. As difficult and frightening as the choice for non-sense can be, trusting enough to make that choice has always proven to be the most satisfying, gratifying and rewarding path for me. And so that is the path I continue to take.

You can't half trust any more than you can be half pregnant. You either trust or you do not. Truly, there is no halfway in between.

All quotes from The MoonQuest, book or screenplay (c) 2008, 2010 Mark David Gerson. All rights reserved.