There are certain times when one feels as if he were alone in the world, removed from reality and yet connected with everything around him. This is one of those moments: the moment just after sunrise, the morning sun rising silently and steadily through a sea of clouds and blue emptiness, casting a faint reddish glow upon the world below. From time to time a bird sings “good morning,” hidden amongst the trees, a gentle breeze lazily shaking leaves and grass awake, letting them know that a new day has come. The path upon which I’m walking seems to belong to another time - an old cobblestone road overgrown with moss and weeds, lost in a forest of willows and ash trees. I allow my feet to carry me deeper into the forest, lost deep within my own thoughts. After a while I come upon a man walking just ahead of me, walking at a slow pace; his back and head are covered by a large black cloak, his body is slightly slouched forward, his head bent down looking at the ground. The man seems to be completely unaware of his surroundings, his eyes fixated on his feet which slowly drag him forward. I am moved by an unexpected sense of compassion and curiosity: what is this man thinking... what is he feeling? Is he in pain... or is he at peace... or perhaps he is lonely... I want to know more about this man walking alone in the forest.... Suddenly I am the man... I continue moving forward, to wherever my destiny is taking me... to the place where this all ends. Now I know this man: I know his struggles, his hopes... the events in my/his life that have led me/him to this forest. My daughter was killed four years ago... I am drunk every night... I was fired from my job... my wife abandoned me... my own son does not love me... my life has no meaning.... Tears begin streaming down my face, knowing that I have come to the end of love... but then I look up, as if waking from a dream. I glance around, but there is no one else in the forest... only life, and beauty, and peace. I remove the black cloak from my back and I drop it on the path. I turn around and walk the way I came, my eyes fixed on something beyond myself.