The Mountaineers

Once some mountaineering teams were scaling a high peak in the Himalayas. They all had maps with them so they wouldn’t get lost. The safe routes were all listed on the map and the dangerous ones, which were prone to avalanches, were clearly marked. One team which had already reached the summit was returning to its camp. On the way down, just a few feet below the summit, they met another team whose members were all sitting around doing nothing.

The leader of the descending team asked, “Why are you sitting here? Why don’t you go on to the top?”

The leader of the ascending team replied, “Our map only showed us how to get this far. We don’t know how to proceed from here. We have sent a runner back to our base camp to fetch us  a map which will guide us all the way to the top.” 

The leader of the descending team laughed and said, 

“You are already on the top. Can’t you see? You don’t need a map at all.”

The same thing has happened to you. You want to send some runners off to fetch extra instructions because you have this idea that there is some other place that you haven’t yet reached. I am telling you, ‘You don’t have to go anywhere. You are already on the summit.’