The Big Muddy Mountain

Once there were two grunts who were marching somewhere because they wanted to be warriors. There was a whole column of grunts marching this day, but these two were at the very back. They were marching up-hill and they had big heavy packs.

One grunt tried to wipe sweat from his eyes but just got more sweat in them.
"This sucks." He said.
"Things will get better," said the second grunt. "You'll see. When I look up ahead I think we are close to the top, and soon the path will level out. We just have to be strong for another five minutes."

The two grunts began to march harder and put pep into their step. As they neared the top they smiled and began to pass other grunts. They were Positive.

Then they reached the top of the ridge, and it was not the top at all. The path turned and went straight up the hill again. The two grunts began to march very slowly now and did not feel so strong any more. It would take more than five minutes.

Then it started to rain.The grunts got cold and the red clay path turned slick and slippery. The first grunt slipped and fell down, and was all orange colored by the time the other grunt was able to help him up.
"This sucks." said the first grunt. "The path is still going up the hill, and now we have to be careful not fall down in this slippery mud."
"Things will get better," said the second grunt. "don't worry. I can hear a big river up ahead and it will be swollen with rain. When we reach the river bank, the officers will have to stop and let us rest until the storm is over. All this rain is a good thing."

The two grunts marched fast again, and they smiled when they saw that the rain came down in blinding sheets. They were feeling Positive again.

Then they reached the river. It was swollen and fast, but somehow the officers had crossed it and wanted everybody else to cross it too. The water came up to their chests, and they had to hold their rifles above their heads.

Now the two grunts walked slower than ever. The column began to march through a thick forest, and even though they were at the back somehow there were lots of thorns and vines that popped up in their way and grabbed at them.

"I don't think I can go much further," said the first grunt. "this trail keeps getting harder and harder."
"Things will get better," said the second grunt. "Trust me. We can't see how close we are because there are trees blocking our view, but when we turn the bend I see the trees open up and then we will see how the path gets easier."

The grunts hurried along towards the open area and tried very hard to be just a little bit positive.

Then they reached the open area and looked: The trail did not get better. The trail went down a little bit, but then went straight up a huge muddy mountain that seemed to block out the rainy sky. Even though it was mostly covered in big boulders and thick forests, the grunts could see that the path would cross not one, but two rivers. And when they could see the trail it was a bright orange-red mud that would be slippery and cold. They did not feel positive at all.

An officer noticed the two grunts and came to yell at them, but instead of hurrying back onto the trail they walked slowly towards him with their shoulders slumped. "We want to go home." said the first grunt.
"We thought we could be warriors," continued the second, "but instead we are weak and slow and feel nothing but disappointment after disappointment. You had better replace us with strong fast men who like to march up muddy mountains."

"What's this?" asked the officer. "You feel disappointment? That means you live in a real, dangerous world where things don't live up to your best hopes. That's why we need warriors. And weak and slow? That means you are finally pushing yourselves harder than you ever did before."

The grunts did not say anything.
"Now you will march up that trail with your column," ordered the officer. "and you will not think of the end, or how good or bad things are. You will not wonder how much farther you can go or when you will stop. You will march because you are strong and your hearts are steadfast and because you will be warriors."

Then the two grunts did as they were told. They did not think about how tired their legs were, or make up stories about how they were going to stop soon. They did not imagine how many more turns the path would take, or try to count how far they had come.

There were more than two rivers to cross, but they did not think about this at all. They did not wonder when their legs would get too heavy to lift or when the officers would let them rest. The path got steeper and steeper and their legs burned with pain and their breath grew ragged in their throats, but they did not wonder when the mountain would stop rising in front of them. They no longer thought about the future or fantasized about the past.

And then suddenly, they were at the top. The column was allowed to drop packs and rest. Grunts sank onto their packs in exhaustion, but the two who had been at the back walked to the edge of the top and looked to see what was ahead.

Before them, the path wound down the mountainside, through rivers and boulders and up and down lesser ridges. Then it sank down into a deep dark forest and finally entered a wide flat valley where a town full of strange people was gathered. The road went straight through the town and back up more foothills until it disappeared over a cleft in two mountains into the blue lands beyond.

But the grunts did not care. Things were going to get better, because they were strong and stubborn, and they were going to be warriors.