A brand new story! A new Now Age Parable! Every once in a while, I find the skeleton of a story, while looking through old documents and files. I found one, last night, that already had a good deal of meat on its bones, and decided to flesh it out further. Here it is. Give it a read, and let me know if it resonates with you. Thank you! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ As I was climbing the highest peak I could find, I looked around for a trail, or for some sign that someone had been here before me. When I saw none, my heart leapt for joy, Am I the first one, to reach this highest peak? I am, truly, a great climber. How great, my climbing prowess. I will lead others here, so that they may see what I have seen. When I reached the top, and caught my breath (it was very high, and I had climbed very fast and hard), I looked around. Oh, what a view, from my private world atop this highest peak. I reveled in my great discovery, in being the first to see the world, from this highest of heights. I felt a tremendous laugh, shake itself from me, and I unleashed it to the winds. I whooped and hollered, and jumped around for some time. There I was, the king of the mountain, looking upon my kingdom. I was seeing what no one else had ever seen, and all would know about it. I would be a great guide, and all would remember me as He Who Conquered The Mountain, So That All May Know Such Heights. As I basked, in the glow of my countenance, I heard the sound, of someone clearing their throat. From behind me, there came a small voice, that said, I wonder, are you done with all that noise? I do understand. It is a view that makes one want to answer it, in some way. I did the same thing, the first time, I found this place. So I understand. I only ask, because I came here this morning, just before the rains, to relax and meditate, and I find it much easier, to do these two things, when there is quiet. I turned around, and wanted to speak, but the sight of the old man, sitting there, smiling at me, was more than my mind could process. So, I found myself staring at him, in a kind of disbelief. When he saw that I was not going to be answering him, he said, Oh, and I do not care if the world knows you as He Who Conquered The Mountain, So That All May Know Such Heights, or if you lead great numbers of people to this place. When I made no reply, he continued, If I may, though, could I ask you to...please...not do it on Sunday, Monday, or Friday Mornings? Also, Tuesday and Thursday afternoons? These are my favorite meditation times, and at my age, I really do not want to find a new place. You do understand, dont you? At this last, he smiled, and clearly waited for my reply. I had none. I was stunned and speechless, for the moment. The whole experience was so strange, and so surreal. Still, one thing stood out, from everything he had said, and all at once I found voice, enough to ask, Can you read minds, old one? How do you know that I wished to be known as He Who Conquered The Mountain, So That All May Know Such Heights, or of my wish to lead other to this great height? Could you hear my thoughts, oh wise one? This made him laugh, and for a long time. Just as I was becoming annoyed, he took a deep breath, smiled, and replied, If the whole world were here, they would have heard you. You were talking to yourself, in the third person...like the chorus of a play, or a narrator. Your exact words were, I believe, And from henceforth, he shall be called He Who Conquered The Mountain, So That All May Know Such Heights, and he shall lead the people to this place, so that they too may know such heights. Or something very nearly like that. Embarrassed, and feeling silly, I started to apologize. He just waived it away, and said, It seemed to be quite a moment, for you. Why would I want to interrupt such a moment? For many, these kinds of moments do not come too often. I finally interrupted you, because it seemed that you were beginning to really get rolling, and like I said, I come here to meditate...in silence and stillness. Now, I am not adverse to company, if you are not adverse to silence and stillness. When I made no move, he offered, Try taking a deep breath. It clears the head AND the heart. Listen, young man, I know you are in disbelief, as to my presence, in what you had thought was your new private world, but here I am. Now, you can continue to attempt to make your notion of what should be fit into what is, of this moment, or you can relax, enjoy the view, and join me in quiet meditation. Or you can leave. Which is it to be? And please decide soon. I do not have much longer, before I must return for Lunch. What was I to do? I took a deep breath, and another...and another. He was right, it did clear my head, and I relaxed enough to know that I was not ready to sit and meditate. Clearly, he had not waited for my reply. Eyes closed, body upright, but relaxed, he was already back to his meditation. I had no desire to disturb him, a second time. So, I made my way, as quietly as I could, to the edge of the ledge, of this highest of heights. I took a deep breath, and took one more view, from this new place. If I hadnt taken this moment, I would have never noticed that, not more than a few meters, from where I had made my climb, was a clearly marked path..plete with trail posts. Turning around to look a the old guy, I found him, with one eye open, chuckling softly. Through a smile, he said, Good, you found the path. I am glad that your way back will be much easier than the way, you took to get to this place. Climbing great heights does not have to be arduous, my boy, but you will discover that for yourself, as you live your life. Before you go, let me offer this: As you make your way down, ask yourself this: Is it still important that I be known as He Who Conquered The Mountain, or that I lead others to this great height? Just something to reflect on, my boy. Now, I leave you to your climb down, and you leave me to my meditations. Be well. I nodded, he closed his one open eye, and I began making my way down the mountain. As I made my way down, I expected to feel let down, or some sort of disappointment. I did not. Over the next two hours (only two), walking down that mountain, I asked myself those two questions. I thought about them, answered them, and asked them again, over and over. In the end, I decided that the world would probably turn, for a bit longer, without my great revelations. I felt myself relax, about all of it, and when I did, I noticed the sound of footsteps, right behind me. It was the old man, and as he passed me, he said, Hello, Great Revealer of Truths! If you pick up the pace, a little, Ill buy you a drink, back in town. I laughed. How could I say No! to that?
Posted on: Sun, 24 Aug 2014 04:23:54 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015