This passage, also from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, serves as a great metaphor for the content of my "Making the Grade" post.
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Mountains should be climbed with as little effort as possible and without desire. The reality of your own nature should determine the speed. If you become restless, speed up. If you become winded, slow down. You climb the mountain in an equilibrium between restlessness and exhaustion. Then, when you're no longer thinking ahead, each footstep isn't just a means to an end but a unique event in itself. This leaf has jagged edges. This rock looks loose. From this place the snow is less visible, even though closer. These are things you should notice anyway. To live only for some future goal is shallow. It's the sides of the mountain which sustain life, not the top. Here's where things grow.
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This is the type of passage that makes you put your book down and rest for a bit - unwilling to move ahead until it settles upon you.
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