There is a town nestled at the base of a mountain ? let?s call this town Ignorantville. For a long time the people have looked up at the mountain wondering what was on top. Some think God, others think aliens, gold, fame, and so on. One day the townspeople decided they were going to climb the mountain to find out. They were going to race to the top ? first one there wins. On the chosen day there was a great celebration: music, dance, and all the glitz and glamour a society could offer was present. Excitement climbed to a crescendo. The time had come. Everyone gathered at the starting line: one ? two ? the gun went off. A million people charged the mountain. Within a minute, half of the people stopped in exhaustion: each coming up with their own excuse. Some claimed pain, others remembered things they had to do, and still others were just too lazy to go on: ?this is pointless,? they exclaimed. The rest went on. A third the way up the mountain was found tables filled with food and drink. Half again stopped, for they were hungry and thirsty. It?s been a few hours since last time they ate and you can never know when the chance will come again. The rest went on ? they could eat after reaching the top. Two-thirds of the way up were more tables, some couches, and bed: sex, drugs, movies, books, games, dancing, and all the fun stuff a person could dream of was here. Practically everyone stopped, either from boredom, needing a break, or just wanting to have a good time before moving on. A hundred people kept going. A thousand feet from the top were more tables, some podiums, chairs, and microphones: power, fame, riches ? all but ten stopped. A hundred feet from the top sat the wisest, most intelligent philosophers, gurus, teachers, preachers, and every other spiritual professor the world has ever seen. All but two stopped: for surely this was it. The last two climbed over the threshold. Reaching the top one of the climbers started jumping around, laughing, dancing, and screaming, ?I made it ? I am king of the world ? the master of the universe? he went on and on screaming. In a fireball of bliss, he burned to ash. The other climber stood still looking around. She looked down the path to see all the teachers, tables, and fun below. She looked out and saw the sun, the mountains, lakes, valleys, and rivers in her life. She looked up and saw the clouds floating bye. Then she sat down. Everything dropped away. Breathing in ? breathing out. She rested in the moment. Time stopped. Beep ? beep. Beep ? beep. Breathing in ? breathing out. She slowly came back to herself: first in thought, then in self, then in breath, then in body. Beep ? beep. Relaxed, calm, and clear, she opened her eyes: 7:00 AM the alarm clock shown. Taking in a deep breath, stretching her arms and legs, she got up. It was time to go to work?
