View life, for a moment, as a journey down a river in a small boat. When our consciousness is small, the river seems narrow and very swift. It is full of rocks and rapids, and we focus so intently on ourselves that we are always paddling furiously to avoid disaster. If we keep our focus so narrow, it will stay that way.

If, however, we begin to raise our consciousness to include others, we begin to see what happens to them as they travel before us, and, if wise, learn from their actions, both good and bad. If truly wise, we seek out reports from others that are further down the river, and plan to avoid pitfalls they have discovered. The river then seems to broaden, giving us more latitude to choose, and more time to make our decisions.

As our consciousness expands further, we begin to appreciate those that have helped us, and begin to leave markers for those that follow. We then discover the satisfaction and joy of giving, for we are no longer alone and "selfish".

If truly wise, we figure out that our viewpoint is limited by the boat we ride, for we can only see to the next bend in the river. If, somehow, we could borrow a balloon and see from a higher vantage point, we could see down river, and plan our trip accordingly. We could stay on the left of the river when we saw rocks around the bend on the right, and we wouldn't have to paddle so furiously to avoid them when they suddenly appeared in our path.

If we got high enough, we could see the calm path all the way, and could leisurely plot our course. From our higher vantage point we could even see where the river is going, and all of the others traveling along it with us. Maybe we could even share our trip, and plan gala parties along the way.