by Eljay

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along a beach with a friend. Across the sky flash scenes from his life. For each scene he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: one belonging to him, and the other to his friend.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happend at the very lowest and saddest times in his life.

This really bothered him, and he questioned his friend about it. “Friend, you said that once I decided to follow you, you’d walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don’t understand why when I needed you most you would leave me.

His friend replied: “My friend. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints. It was then that I was the beach you trod upon. Yet I bore you even as you trod upon me, without complaint. I nurtured you, for I am the cosmos, and you are an inextricable part of me.”