It’s not clear to me, regardless of what road one follows in life, how a statement like the one below can be overlooked.  In the author’s case, his road was to freedom, literally. In 98 words, he describes life, his, mine, and likely yours too.

“I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can only rest for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not ended.” ~ Nelson Mandela

I am thankful that I wish to keep walking those roads. In William Faulkner’s THE REIVERS Faulkner tells of the ranking intelligence of common animals, to wit: Rat > Mule > Cat > Dog > Horse.

When, in the book, a Chinese parable discussed the cat, we find that once the cat ruled our world, but gave up because their leadership realized that “that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.”  They were smart enough to conclude that the hills never end.  So they abdicated their rule of the earth.  That’s why they live with us and look at us the way they do.

The road that I have been on changed its character few times. On each one, I really did notice that even after one hard climb, there was a rest; but there before me were more hills.  Resting gets boring.  As for me, please let me see the road before me and those hills that need climbing, for they really are opportunities. I only pray they are reasonable, and my strength will hold.