friends on a hill
ups and downs
There's a lot of bright colored beads and pleasant sounds out there; a lot of good food, and sweet candy, and soft silks for your skin… and babes to look at for a dime. There's folks who'll cut your hair, and folks who'll give you a massage, and folks who'll write you a song to give to your girlfriend with her name in it. There's coffee to get you up a little, and coke to get you up a lot more, and there's wine and dope to calm your nerves, and cars to get you there, and planes to get you there faster, and there's movies to sell you a dream, and amusement parks to sell you a dream, and music to keep the world out, and radio and television to keep the world out or make you feel that you're on top of things, and really know what's happening. And there are possessions to gratify you, and there's plastic surgery to make you beautiful. It's a wonderful world.
It's so easy to get lost. It's so easy to keep on eating even after you are satisfied. You get fat. You can get hooked on all kinds of stimulation. You might find yourself watching action thrillers.
The difference between living life and getting lost is like the difference between climbing a mountain and taking a ride at an amusement park. They know how to keep you at the edge of your seat at the amusement park. You go up and you go down, and it looks like you're falling…. falling… falling… and then, in the last minute, you find yourself going up again. And around and around. There's the noise, and the shrieks of the others, and the movement… and usually when the ride is over, you're in need of a couple minutes rest before you're ready for another ride.
When you're climbing a mountain, there are a lot of preparations. I'm not talking about getting into shape. You have to be in shape to do it. You choose your clothes and shoes with care. You pack your backpack very carefully, taking only the very minimum that you have to. You won't want to be carrying anything you don't really need. You don't want to be without something you really need. You want food that will give you a lot of energy, but won't weigh too much, and won't spoil. When you pack your backpack right, you don't even feel it while you're going. You don't need a walkman. Every step of the way will be a choice, every sound along the path will be an experience. You'll smell with every breath. Minute by minute, hour by hour you'll be deeper in the experience of living life; in the process, learning the expansion of space. What might have once been 'just a couple of miles' will be revealed as worlds within worlds. Birds, and animals, and insects will greet you, and you will greet them. You will learn to converse with dirt. At first, you will be amazed by the quiet, and later you will be amazed that there is no quiet. And can this be…? That a rock can be a pillow.
When you choose to rest, there are so many possibilities, and it's worth your while to find that particular spot that is just right for you. Sometimes you are welcomed with grace. Sometimes you are left alone. There's a lot of time and space in which to make peace with yourself. There is the simplicity of truth. In the presence of the infinite, we are aware of our own limitations, and grateful for the opportunity. Coming down is as beautiful as going up. Being there was worth it.
