The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari | Page 8

all. But he had never seen beauty like this. The
wonders of which he drank at that magical time were an exquisite
tribute to the symphony of nature. At once he felt joyous, exhilarated
and carefree. It was here, high above the humanity below,
that Julian slowly ventured out of the cocoon of the ordinary and
began to explore the realm of the extraordinary.
"I still remember the words that were going through my mind
up there," said Julian. "I thought that, ultimately, life is all about
choices. One's destiny unfolds according to the choices one makes,
and I felt certain that the choice I had made was the right one. I
knew my life would never be the same and that something marvellous,
maybe even miraculous, was about to happen to me. It was an
amazing awakening."
As Julian climbed into the rarified regions of the Himalayas,
he told me that he grew anxious. "But it was those good kind of
jitters, like the ones I had on prom night or right before an exciting
case began and the media was chasing me up the courtroom
steps. And even though I didn't have the benefit of a guide or a
map, the way was clear and a thin, lightly travelled path led me
higher into the deepest reaches of those mountains. It was like I
had some sort of inner compass, nudging me gently towards my
destination. I don't think I could have stopped climbing even if I
had wanted to," Julian was excited, his words spilling out like a
gushing mountain stream after the rains.
As he travelled for two more days along the route that he
prayed would take him to Sivana, Julian's thoughts wandered
back to his former life. Though he felt entirely liberated from the
stress and strain that personified his former world, he did wonder
whether he could really spend the rest of his days without the
intellectual challenge that the legal profession had offered him
since he left Harvard Law School. His thoughts then wandered
back to his oak-paneled office in a glittering downtown skyscraper
and the idyllic summer home he had sold for a pittance. He
thought about his old friends with whom he would frequent the
finest of restaurants in the most glamorous locales. He also
thought about his prized Ferrari and how his heart would soar
when he gunned the engine and all its ferocity sprang to life with
a roar.
As he ventured deeper into the depths of this mystical place,
his reflections of the past were quickly interrupted by the stunning
marvels of the moment. It was while he was soaking in the
gifts of nature's intelligence that something startling happened.
From the corner of his eye he saw another figure, dressed
strangely in a long, flowing red robe topped by a dark blue hood,
slightly ahead of him on the path. Julian was astonished to see
anyone at this isolated spot that had taken him seven treacherous
days to reach. As he was many miles away from any real civilization
and still uncertain as to where his ultimate destination of
Sivana could be found, he yelled out to his fellow traveller.
The figure refused to respond and accelerated his pace along
the path they were both climbing, not even giving Julian the courtesy
of a backward glance of acknowledgement. Soon the mysterious
traveller was running, his red robe dancing gracefully behind
him like crisp cotton sheets hanging from a clothesline on a windy
autumn day.
"Please friend, I need your help to find Sivana," yelled Julian,
"I've been travelling for seven days with little food and water. I
think I'm lost!"
The figure came to an abrupt stop. Julian approached
cautiously while the traveller stood remarkably still and silent. His
head did not move, his hands did not move and his feet kept their
place. Julian could see nothing of the face beneath the hood but
was struck by the contents of the small basket in the hands of the
traveller. Within the basket was a collection of the most delicate
and beautiful flowers Julian had ever seen. The figure clutched the
basket tighter as Julian drew nearer, as if to display both a love of
these prized possessions and a distrust of this tall Westerner,
about as common to these parts as dew in the desert.
Julian gazed at the traveller with an intense curiosity. A quick
burst of a sunbeam revealed that it was a man's face under the
loosely-fitting hood. But Julian had never seen a man quite like
this one. Though he was at least his own age, there were very striking
features of this person which left Julian mesmerized and caused
him to simply stop and stare for what seemed like an eternity. His
eyes were catlike and so penetrating that Julian was forced to look
away. His olive-complexioned skin was supple and smooth. His
body looked strong and powerful. And though the man's hands
gave away the fact that he was not young, he radiated such an
abundance of youthfulness and vitality that Julian felt hypnotized
by what appeared before him, much like a child watching the
magician at his first magic show.
'This must be one of the Great Sages of