Midway upon our road of life I found myself within a dark wood, for the right way had been missed. I was walking home from the last of my classes that day, and I suspect that I was so entranced by the first gleaming pink rays of the blossoming sunset that I had took a careless turn in the wrong direction. Before long I was in an unfamiliar and earthy place, treading upon a darkening trail. The crackling of twigs beneath my feet was unnerving as I continued along the path with a growing sense of curiosity.

Soon the track became thinner, and the air chillier. The sun had dipped low enough below the horizon, and there was enough vegetation above my head that I was well obscured in darkness. I must have ascended the Berkeley hills, I told myself, although I was quite convinced I had never taken any trail like this before. A few minutes later, I stopped for a rest in a misty grove that reeked of stale blood. The clearing was empty, except for a few large purple mushrooms and what appeared to be fireflies – dancing lights spawned from the boiling, bubbling pot of forest magic.

Ere long, I grew anxious and longed to return home, to safety. The distant howling of wolves and the hooting of owls added to the general sense of foreboding. Any sign or indication of civilization was not to be found. So for the moment, I pondered in silence.

It was about this time that a grand, shadowy figure appeared nearby and threatened to overtake me. It was moving slowly, engulfing the entire grove little by little. I stared awestruck at the giant, hovering black mass of….nothingness. It was a dark, dense pulsating sphere of pure emptiness, and it was getting bigger. I was petrified, immobile. The black mass seemed to emit a low rasping noise, as if it were breathing intensely. The air around me suddenly became extremely chilly, and I struggled to breathe as my field of vision was covered with black. I flailed my arms, desperately trying to free myself from the thick, sticky tangle of evil that had seized me and now threatened to swallow me whole. I fought to push air into my lungs as my reality gradually receded into nothingness…

It must have been hours before I awoke. I first experienced a strong burst of cold wind, and then the feeling of warmth and sunshine upon my face. For a few minutes, I lay motionless, wondering in my head if I had just experienced some incredible dream. But the ground I was lying on felt rocky and dusty. I opened my eyes and found myself on some other planet, it seemed. The dark grove, the misty forest – they were gone. Instead, I was staring off a mountain peak at a very high altitude. The land below was a reddish, barren desert for as far as I could see. The sky was cloudless, and the sun had just broken above the horizon. I was most of all surprised to notice the masked gentleman sitting right beside me.

He was perched on a rock, gazing peacefully towards the horizon. I stared at him for a long moment. Something about him was familiar, something about him was…reassuring. Strangely enough, however, his face was covered by a veil and his head wrapped in bandages. He had thick blond hair which all but hid his face, except for one gleaming red eye. I would have feared for my safety around this fellow, had I not sensed his aura of warmth and well-meaning.

“You’ve come a long way,” he said in a low, young voice. “But such is your destiny. Even a rose must struggle before it blooms, just as you are blooming right now. Such is the order of things.”

At this time, a slow, soothing melody began playing. From where it came, I had no idea. It was as if an angel was playing his lute to commemorate a moment of awakening and relevation. It was a beautiful, harmonious melody and hearing it was a deeply profound experience. You too, reader, can share this wonder and listen to what I heard upon that mountaintop that day by watching this youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwhREIFf6O0 . In fact, I strongly urge you to listen to it as you read the next words to gain an inkling of what I felt.

This young man continued speaking in rhythm with the song. “I come here to watch the sunrise every morning. I believe that you, too, are here for a reason. I believe that you are on a mission.” He glanced at me knowingly for a moment, and then looked back towards the sunrise. “Just as night is reborn into day, we are reborn many times in our lives. The desert below us is where I grew up. I have watched it transform slowly, with beauty and with grace. This land was once inhabited by the Odwalla tribe. But there were those among them who were not content to live in harmony with the earth. One of them, by the name of Ganondorf, rose to prominence among the village folk, and engaged in transactions that were harmful to nature for his own benefit. Before long, the entire tribe was wiped out. What you see is the land that the spirit of the desert has reclaimed.”

He looked towards me again, the expression in his red eye now conveying urgency. “You must not lose heart. Remember that life’s changes are like a moving river. What’s here today is gone tomorrow. And tomorrow is a whole new journey.” The wind started to pick up speed, and I felt the scene slowly fading. “Long after our bones have turned to dust, we will continue to live. It was not by chance that we had this meeting. But tomorrow, you just as well may see me again, in the form of a cloud or a raindrop. Remember this, and you will know where to look for guidance.”

“But wait….why are you – ” I began as a blinding flash of light suddenly surrounded me completely. For a second, I saw only white and heard the whistling of wind. Then, I was back on campus, and it was broad daylight. I was sitting dazed in front of Sproul Hall as throngs of students and passerby made their way to class. I got up, and went along my way. I’d best be mindful of the present moment. Today is a whole new journey!