13.2 - Lost on a Narrow Road

The man continues down his determined path, he seeks not to wander or wonder.  The road is still long and tiresome, but he sees an end in sight, so he continues. Every new branch and fork he stops to read the sign, Temptation, he doesn’t bother with the others. With each step, his pace hastens. As he passes each branch, the sage questions him.

“Why do you want to reach a city?”

“Do you tire of your journey?”

“Why so quickly do you run?”

“What will you do in the city?”

“Was this your original destination?”

The man ignored the sage, for he must hurry,  he has no time to stop for questions. This continued until the sage asked him a particular question.

“Why did you step on that flower?”

The man stopped finally to respond, “What flower?”

The sage pointed in the direction the man came from. “It was a beautiful flower, far more beautiful than anything you have or will ever see. And it never will be beautiful again.”

Out of disbelief the man exclaimes “Surely I would have seen it.”

The sage looks into the eyes of the man, “No, you were too busy looking ahead, you never looked down, or around, or behind, or at the way the road became a soft field of flowers and a stream full of fish and a meadow of sheep. Your haste has made you more slow and your greater focus has made you blind. Your goal has overshadowed your journey and you have become lost in the dark on a narrow road.”