Such is the speed of the heart! We are often so ignorant of its temperament. Indeed, the heart moves at the speed of light. If we could but tune into it a little more often, what a great relief it would really be, dear readers who have had such patience on this journey of the heart. On this journey of the mind. Yes, the heart and mind do not even know they dwell in the same body. Such is the sad state of affairs on this little planet. The heart and the mind seem to want different things. How often do you, dear readers, talk to yourselves? Does anyone answer? You see the mind and heart talking to each other is like the sound of two hands clapping. Confusion is everywhere! Just at the edge of the heart. Like an ocean tugging on the shore of an island. This island of the heart. The heart does not understand words. It does not care to know about space. It becomes uncomfortable with time. There is no BIG or SMALL in the Universe of the heart. There is no PAST and there is no FUTURE. There is no GRAVITY and there is no LIGHT. The heart is a fluid world. The heart has total understanding. It has total recall. Dear readers, the heart likes to eat. If you speak to the heart long enough, it will release a monster and you will need to tame it. But, we are leaving our story! Dear readers! We have a frightened little monk to comfort. And this little monk had a very curious mind. Yes, he was now trying to find out how to leave this most inhospitable desert. The little monk remembered to walk in a straight line. This had worked in the past, dear readers; so let us be patient and hope it works again.

On and on our little monk trudged. This desert seemed endless. It was getting cold again; the sun was setting. Nothing but sand dunes could be seen. This life and death business seemed endless. As the little monk began to lose hope, he saw a little mouse in the distance. He was running away
from something unknown and possibly frightening. The little monk shouted to the little mouse:
"Hello there! Little mouse .... what are you running away from?"
The little mouse stopped and smiled at the little monk. "Are you lost?" it asked.
"Yes, I am," said the little monk. "Can you please tell me where I can find the meaning of life?"
The little mouse laughed and said: "You will never find the meaning of life."
"Why is that?" asked the little monk.
"Because, you can add two and two and get four, but you cannot get three!" retorted the little mouse, and off he fled into the distance.

Dear readers, please don't despair! Our little monk was not lost. He remembered the words of the abbot. He had once told him that one should always put the matter at hand to the purpose at hand. The little prince saw enormous quantities of sand. This gave him an idea. Why not simply dig a hole and find a way out beneath the ground? It struck him as a grand idea. The little monk began digging without stopping to rest. Eventually, he found a tunnel and walked along the side of it. It was pitch black and the little monk could not really see things clearly. The only thing he could do was feel the earth beneath his feet. After an hour of this slow and delicate work, he reached a small little door. It seemed to be locked, and forcing it open failed to bring relief. The little monk could smell a sweet fragrance coming from the other side. Smell, as you know, readers, is a tool of the heart. You know, how often we can tell so much by just one whiff of our nostrils! A small little light guided the little monk, this little light led to a small room. It was there that the little monk encountered a great mystery. Like all good mysteries, it would be unwise for me to reveal it, but, let me saythat the little monk discovered an old wizard. Now, this wizard was somewhat blind. His age may have had something to do with it. This prevented him from seeing the little monk, but he could hear his approaching footsteps quite clearly.
"Who goes there?" cried the wizard.
"IT IS I," cried the little monk. "Dear Wizard, can you please tell me the meaning of life?"
"Why do you want to know that?" asked the wizard, with a tone of contempt. "Can't you just use your imagination?"
The little monk looked confused.
"Yes, my son. Simply imagine yourself as something. Everyone else will, too, if you believe it. Most people are very ignorant and simply do what they've been told to do. Invent your own life. Just charge into your fears! It's never as bad as you think .... and things are never as good as you
think, either. Invent a goal and follow it. Review it frequently and see if it's still worthwhile following."
The little monk was greatly impressed. He was so impressed that he asked, "What is your goal, if I may ask, dear Wizard ...."
The wizard smiled and said, "I am building a device to take me to the stars. I have discovered how to separate the spin and center of a mass, and this will create a local gravity field. My little spaceship will then be propelled into orbit. Travel to the stars then will become very economical."
The little monk felt that this was a great way to live, but that somehow this wasn't the answer he was looking for. So, he asked the wizard: "When will your spaceship take off?"
The wizard replied: "It is taking off right now! Hop in ...."
The little monk was never averse to a new adventure, so off he went to the stars.
As the spaceship took off with a silent humming sound, the wizard looked at our little monk and whispered: "Unless you leave everything behind, how will you ever know who you really are?"

Dear readers, this voyage must now take us to the very outer edge of our galaxy and beyond. Being a curious and adventurous spirit, our little monk did not mind this, for in the search of ultimate truths, all comforts must be abandoned and great courage must be pulled up from the very depths of the traveler. Indeed, to be free can be quite nerve-wracking; the saddest person is often the slave who has lost his chains!

The little monk was looking out through the spaceship's window. All the bundles of stars seemed to be talking to each other. "Could they be talking about the truth?" wondered the little monk to himself. "It would be nice to ask them and find out, but how does one talk to a star?"
The old wizard was silently steering his spaceship with a handle made out of wood and metal. Despite his near blindness, the wizard had little difficulty navigating through such uncharted waters: he seemed to have a moment-by-moment focus which generated a power the little monk had difficulty resisting.
"What are we doing, Mr. Wizard, Sir?" asked the little monk.
"We're simply waiting for the next thing to happen," replied the wizard.
"We are flying in a straight line, that is all that's necessary. Very few people know how to fly in a straight line. I think I'll open a school for learning how to fly in a straight line."
"Such a conceited person!" thought the little monk.
Indeed, dear readers, the art of flying, or walking in a straight line really needs a lot of discipline. Letting go of everything that weighs on one, every fear, every love, every hate, every belief, every non-belief, could be quite a list! You see, to deny a thing and to embrace it is often the same act. Perhaps it is easier, dear readers to simply walk away, or to just smell a flower. The business of life can be so confusing!