The man and the mountain

Once there was a man who wanted to become a great climber. It was his heart´s desire to climb on the top of all big mountains. As he had no idea how to realize it, he went to the most famous climber who had already achieved this great goal.

The young man was very impressed by the famous climber when they met for the first time. He decided to call him master, the master of all climbers.

The master taught the young man everything about mountaineering. After the theory and preparation, the young man was supposed to start practically climbing his first mountain.

The master chose a small and relatively easy to climb mountain which was suitable for a beginner. And so the young man took the challenge and made it to the top. The experience was awesome. The whole world was expanded before his eyes and the sun was on its majestic rise. He felt the mystery of nature, the unity beyond diversity. He was really enthusiastic and already looking forward for the next climb.

Back to the ground, he was talking with his master about his experiences. The master said to the young man “Look my son, every mountain is different, has its own mysteries and gifts. When you know all mountains like I do, you can see that there is an ideal order about with which mountain you shall start and which one is the last one, the king of all mountains. This order follows the wisdom of experience and so I want to recommend to you to follow it for your benefits.”

The young man understood. So he hit the road, on his way to mountain number 2. This mountain was already higher than the first one and required more effort to climb but again, the young man was rewarded with great experiences on the top. And he learned new skills and became stronger.

Prepared for the third mountain, he moved on. This time the mountain was quite strange and a path to the top was not visible. The young man walked around the whole mountain, looking out for a single trail to take. But somehow, he was not able to find the right approach. He was disappointed, sad, frustrated. Already with the third mountain the great journey should be finished?

But the young man had a strong will and thought that just by time he would find the right way upwards. So he built up his tent and made a bonfire. Days passed by and although the young men thought a lot how to manage the climb, he got no useful insight.

Even months passed by as the young man was very persistent. “I want to follow the ideal path, the ideal order as the master explained it!”

Meanwhile a whole year has passed and the young man was very disappointed. He did not know what to do. “I must follow the ideal path!” he thought.

One day he was so fed up from thinking about this mountain and how to get up that he took a walk in the woods. This brought great relief. His mind calmed down and opened for inspiration. He really felt how all the distress, the too much thinking was released and how easiness and freedom, also clarity came back. He felt light and good.

Being open and feeling easy, he suddenly got the insight to check the other mountains, their characteristics and this is what he did.

He became aware that certainly there were connections between them and that it makes sense to start with the easier ones and to climb the king of all mountains in the end. But he discovered also that there was no “must” in following the ideal order, the ideal path. He thought about all the other climbers who didn´t know about this ideal order and simply took the challenge to climb this or that mountain. Depending on their talents and preparation they were successful for sure.

With these thoughts in mind, he understood that he has wasted precious time, a whole year, where he could have climbed other mountains already.

Then he thought again about his mountain and he understood that with more experience from climbing other mountains he would be able to make it to the top also at this one.

It was all about making experiences, becoming wiser, getting trained more and more.

With this new feeling of freedom, he checked the next mountains to find a fitting one to climb. And indeed, he found one, and another one, and another one, until he managed nearly all mountains. He wasted no more precious time and enjoyed so many great mysteries, so wonderful experiences on the top of the mountains.

One day, he had the insight that the time had come to climb the mountain which was so resistant. Due to his high level of experiences, he now watched the animals and found a hidden path which they use. He took this path and made it to the top without any problems. He was happy.

At last, he visited the king of all mountains. To his surprise, the climb was much easier than he expected. It was the crown of all experiences as the mountain revealed his majesty, his full beauty. He had arrived. He was now a master too.