Chapter 42
One day, as Harry sat atop Soul Mound, he realized that he had gotten a bit off track. He had lost sight of his passion, though no one around him would have guessed it.
When he was much younger, a quiet and contemplative twelve-year-old boy, he had begun to understand what he really wanted to do in his life: help those who were lost. He had felt lost once upon a time. For many years, in fact. And once he finally realized who he was, and why he was here, he set about assisting others in coming to such an understanding for themselves.
Then he got involved in a silly little lawsuit, and he met some wonderful people, and together with those wonderful people he went on to create something big.
But creating something big was not his original intention. His original intention was to help those who were lost. And despite the fact that thousands of people were visiting Solfield every year, there were many more for whom a visit was simply not feasible. And most people around the planet had never heard of it anyway.
So Harry sat atop his mound and he thought. He thought about all that had taken place in his life up to that point, and he thought about where else his life might lead him. He thought about whether or not he was on the right track, whether or not this was all he wanted to accomplish.
He decided it wasn’t. And then he had an idea.
Paul had informed him in recent months that many people who visited Soul Mound from the far corners of the world had begun to build their own mounds, similar to the one Harry had built in his backyard in Ohio many years before.
Harry smiled as he imagined people all around the world covering piles of dirt with bricks or stones. He saw in his mind small groups of people sitting atop their mounds in Thailand and Zimbabwe and Jordan and Sweden and Uruguay, talking or praying or meditating or reading, just as he himself had done a thousand times or more.
Suddenly he realized that the mounds people were building for themselves were Harry’s true accomplishment, his true contribution. Apparently the little mound he had covered with bricks in his yard, the one he had begun with enthusiasm, the one that had rescued him from the dreary depression he was wrestling with at that time, was far more than he had realized.
Harry began to finally put the pieces together. He had asked God for one more messenger. But instead of sending a prophet or a messiah of some sort, God had inspired Harry to build a mound. A small mountain. So Harry had built his mountain. And now, many years later, people all around the world were building their own mountains. It had grown far beyond Harry himself. In fact, most of the people who were currently sitting on mounds around the world knew nothing of Harry or that first mound he had built in his backyard in Ohio.
And what was the purpose of all these mounds? What was their significance?
Harry decided that the significance of the many mounds around the world, as well as all the mounds and pyramids that had been built throughout human history, depended upon what took place on and around them. It depended upon what meaning each structure held for the people who congregated there, who looked at or sat or walked upon them.
Harry had always seen them as a place to ponder and contemplate, but also a place to share and converse and celebrate, just as he and Paul and Anne had done many times before.
Harry found himself wondering what all these mounds around the world were being used for. And then another piece of the puzzle fell into place. It was one of those “aha” moments that Harry has always been so fond of.
Harry realized that he wanted to visit some of the many mounds that people were building. He wanted to find out what the people were thinking about, what they were pondering and contemplating and discussing and celebrating atop their mounds.
And then he had an idea. An idea that would unleash his true intent in this life. He would take a journey. A journey around the world. He would visit some of the many mounds and the people that were building them, and he would sit with them and talk with them and celebrate with them.
Harry felt his heart begin to beat faster. He felt a surge of joy and excitement. He stood up and looked out over the trees to the mountains in the distance. Then he looked down to the clearing below and at all the people milling around or sitting or talking or any of the other things people did on and around Soul Mound.
Harry climbed down the many steps and platforms until he reached the ground. Then he hiked back to the cabins to find Paul and Anne. When he found them, he informed them that he had decided to take a journey.
He told them about his thoughts and feelings and inspiration, and they were thrilled. It was decided that Anne would accompany Harry for the first part of his journey, and then she would return home and Paul would meet up with him for part of the trip as well.
Harry didn’t know how long the journey would last, or where it would lead, and that was fine with him. In fact, he didn’t care. He wanted to wander, to allow his impulses and inspiration to lead him wherever they might. He had no particular destination, no agenda, other than to connect and to share and to celebrate.
He felt as though one final weight had been lifted from his shoulders, one last curtain pulled aside. And he had the vague sense that everything that had transpired in his life up to that point had been in preparation for the journey he was about to take.
Harry was flooded with excitement and anticipation as he began to ponder where and when he would begin his journey. Later that same day, Paul placed an article at the top of Solfield’s website describing Harry’s intention and asking for those who had built or were building a mound of their own to post a short description or story about it, including their location. Soon there were postings from all around the world, many with photographs and detailed descriptions. And as a result of the many postings, even more people were inspired to build mounds of their own. Harry designated June 22, the second day of summer, as the day that he would begin his adventure.
A phenomenon had been set in motion, and Harry was thrilled and baffled by it. Hundreds, and perhaps even thousands, of mounds - many looking just like the one he himself had built in his backyard many years before - were appearing all around the world. Was this really happening? Harry marveled and pondered.
And then one afternoon, several weeks later as he sat once again atop Soul Mound contemplating the journey he was about to begin a few days later, one more piece fell into place: Harry realized that he had already delivered his message.
The mound on which he sat was his message.
