There was a man who was looking for something and he searched the mountaintops. He called out, “Helloooo…” and he would hear the echo call back “Hellooooo…” He ran to the other mountain, thinking that it was what he was looking for only to find nothing. He called out again, “Helloooo…” and heard the echo and ran to the other mountain. Back and forth endlessly, never finding, always looking.

I was fishing with a friend on a boat on a beautiful day. There was a bald eagle sitting up on a tall tree nearby, and herons everywhere. I pointed them out to my friend but he paid no attention. He was telling me about a trip that he had been on. He said that the place was so beautiful that he wished that he were still there. He said that the eagles would swoop down and grab fish out of the water. Just as he said this, the eagle that had been in the tall tree swooped down and grabbed a fish. I stopped my friend in mid-sentence to tell him to look, but he didn’t. He was still talking about being somewhere else.

The answer is not always on the next mountain. Look around you. Look at yourself. Stop chasing echoes. You will see much beauty and happiness right where you are.