Just short of the summit

the famous sherpa guide, Tenzing norgay, found Wilson’s body and, next to it, his diary, in which he had written, “only 13,000 feet more to go. i have the distinct feeling that i will reach the summit on april 21.” he had hoped that his automatic camera would record his moment of triumph for posterity. however, that moment never came. Moreover, no one could determine the actual cause of his death. it was the first serious attempt to conquer Mount Everest, and it had failed. The saga of Maurice Wilson, divested of its elements of high drama, is if we could but realize it, the saga of many of the world’s less illustrious, less daring millions. Most of us, in a lower key, strain after some cherished dream, some gilded ambition, full of thoughts of the happiness that awaits us at some imagined point in the future. however, death can come at any moment and may forestall the ripening of well-laid plans. it is an eventuality that many of us completely lose sight of in the struggle to achieve an ambition. however, it is an ever-present reality we must prepare ourselves for, sooner or later. We must never lose our awareness that our ultimate destination lies not in the realization of our dream world in this world but in the abode we finally take up in the afterlife. We shall be better able to come to terms with the anti-climactic nature of human existence if we keep our minds firmly fixed on the notion that the greatest climax lies beyond the grave.