I have been listening to Deepak Chopra's book "Buddha: A Story of Enlightenment" and I have too say it is a great book. I am truly enjoying this story of the life of Buddha from the time before his birth.
In the book, Deepak talks about Buddha (who's name was Siddhartha) who was born a Prince. His mother died shortly after his birth. The astrologer's of the time saw in his life chart that he would rule the world but not his father's kingdom. In order to keep his son close by and to have him as his heir his father was advised to close Buddha's life off to anything outside the palace walls. But, even in this secluded life Buddha started the path to his enlightenment as a toddler. He would acknowledged voices he heard but would not see anyone around. He recognized his feelings towards animals, nature and people in general. As a youngster he was able to see past the events unfolding in front of him and know how they would turn out. Not because he could see the future but because he could see the the real person within the person. He could tell good from evil by their spirit within.
One thing that I found interesting was the pain and anguish he felt for the smallest of beings. He felt sadness over the worms cut in half when the fields were tilled. This evening as I was in the shower I noticed a fly on the wall and without even thinking about it is sprayed it off the wall and down the drain. Once the fly was gone and down the drain, I actually stopped and thought "what have I done?" I was shocked to realize I just killed a living being without a second thought. I felt such remorse for that one action. I finished my shower and as I was drying off and putting on my robe the guides ever so gently said "You are finally on the road to true enlightenment. Congratulations."
My feelings of remorse were then replaced with first happiness and then trepidation. I thought I was on the road to enlightenment all along but apparently you have to experience and realize many things before the road truly opens up.