The Quest

"I would like to beg you, dear Sir, as well as I can, to have the patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves . . ." (Rainer Maria Rilke)

To live the quest is as if to climb a mountain.  At the beginning of the quest, the climb, you stand at the foot of the mountain, intimidated and in awe.  You find the will and the courage to take the first steps.  With the summit your destination you begin, and the journey becomes your adventure, your life's story.

Why make the climb?  Some will not.  Some will choose a different journey with a more inviting destination--pleasure, power, or possessions.  Some will have no strength to climb, depleted by life's day-to-day demands.  Some will be afraid to climb, and some will be content to vicariously watch while others climb.  Some will close their eyes, trying to ignore the mountain's presence.  But the mountain is there, inviting anyone to climb, if willing to do so.

Why climb the mountain?  "Because it's there."  You climb because you are beckoned by the challenge, by a need to explore, by a need for purpose and meaning, by a wish to know, and by the possibility of finding out.

With the climb, you discover.  You discover that a climb requires proper tools--self-discipline, tenacity, and courage.  You discover that a climber requires a team--family, friends, teachers and guides.  But while every climber needs the help of others, you discover that you cannot be carried upward on the back of another.  The climb is yours.

You have to choose from among many paths.  Some will lead to the top.  But you discover that many paths lead astray and some paths lead to the edge of the cliff.  Along the way there are friends to steer you to the right path.  There are also those you might mistake as friends who try to lead you to the cliff's edge.

Sometimes the terrain is gentle.  Sometimes the terrain is steep and frightening.  At time you look around and take in the scenery.  At other times, the task requires your total attention and effort.  At times, you stop to rest, to nourish and to recreate.  But rest is not avoidance, and once rested you must rise and resume your climb.  Sometimes you will move forward upright.  Other times your climb may be on hands and knees.

From my climb, I have learned that the view is ever-changing.  As I climb higher, my view is occasionally obscured by the clouds, but for the most part, I see farther and more clearly.  And what happens at the summit?  I don't know.  I'm not yet there.