Seth knew that there wasn't any music playing, but he felt like there was. The sky was bluer than he ever remembered it, the grass greener, and there was a fragrance about the air that he couldn't remember from any time before. He hardly realized he was talking aloud, there on that little path a short distance beyond the chasm. Not only talking, but strange for him, waxing poetic.
"I feel marvelous! Who would have thought that a few short steps could make such a change in my life? I feel like my whole soul is filled with music, and I want to shout out loud. I DO FEEL WONDERFUL!"
"You'll get over it."
The one who spoke - and who shocked the song right out of Seth's head - was a small, middle-aged woman, very neatly and properly dressed, and with a knowledgeable, confident smile on her face. She approached Seth on a side path that led from a dense wood.
"What did you say?" asked Seth, after he had regained his composure. "I don't think I heard you correctly."
"I said, you'll get over it. I mean you'll get over that light, giddy, giggly feeling you have now. I can tell you from my own experience that, once you get accustomed to life on this side of the chasm, you'll settle down."
"But I'm not sure I want to settle down! I've crossed the chasm and am in a new country, with endless possibilities, and it's so marvelous that I want to feel this good forever."
"Well, of course you do," she replied (rather condescendingly, he thought). "And of course it is a marvelous thing - the MOST marvelous, certainly. But once we learn our way around, get directions, and learn the rules and regulations, then we can settle down and... well, get on with life."
Seth tried to sort this out. "Now, wait," he began, "I respect your age, but..."
A frosty look began to spread across the woman's face.
"Well, what I mean is, you've obviously been here a long time..."
Her icy stare froze him in mid-sentence. "Young man, I am not THAT old!"
"No, ma'am." Flustered, he tried to pick his words. "What I am trying to say is that I respect your experience, but it just seems to me that this feeling is so wonderful that we should strive to perpetuate it."
"Young man, you obviously do NOT respect my experience, or you would listen to what I'm trying to tell you. Good day."
With that, she turned abruptly and started back up the little side path into the woods. Seth started to call after her, but he was startled by someone moving close behind him. He turned to find a man standing there.
"I wouldn't take her words too much to heart, if I were you," said the newcomer.
"I seem to be getting a lot of counseling today," responded Seth, somewhat annoyed. "Who are you, who is she, and who am I to believe?"
"She is called Settled, and my name is Maturity. She means well, but she takes away a lot of the pleasure and the power of living on this side of the chasm."
"She implied that she had been here a long time, and she is certainly older than you..." began Seth.
"But surely you know that age and maturity do not necessarily go hand in hand. She has indeed grown older, but her heart and mind have not kept pace. She has become.. " He hesitated, searching for the right word. "I guess you could say that she has become her name - settled, too comfortable."
"What precisely do you mean by that? This is confusing."
Maturity hesitated again. "It's a hard thing for me to understand, also, because her life has been so different from mine. But generally, this is what happened. When Settled first crossed the chasm, she felt much like you do, today. But then she got lazy, or perhaps frightened, or else something happened that I don't understand. In any event, she found that just being on this side of the chasm was so much better than being on the other side that she stopped right here and settled down. She never explored any farther into the Kingdom. She never learned that, if you go on, the experiences get even better than when you first cross over. She's just sitting now, not taking advantage of much that the Kingdom has to offer, and not encouraging others to go on, either."
"Well," said Seth positively, because he was beginning to hear the music in his head and heart again, "I for one want to keep this excitement and find out what lies ahead."
"Good for you! Do you mind if I travel along with you for awhile? I like company, and perhaps I can be of some help."
"By all means! I'll be very pleased to take advantage of both your company and your knowledge."
So it was that Seth and Maturity left Settled on the little side path into the woods, and started on into the Kingdom.
***
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