When did life become so fast paced? When was the last time you stopped and thought instead of just running on autopilot? When has any of all the talking you do and hear actually resulted in something meaningful being said?

When did mindless continual motion become everything?

This is a hamster - not a human being - existence, and you remember waking up some days wondering, "Is this it? Has my life no greater purpose? Can I ever have what I really want?" Then you feel the discomfort of thinking such brazen thoughts, and you rush back into your wheel, running with renewed energy, away from a real life, toward nothing. Or not...

"It is your reponsibility to make your mind as strong as it can be, to use it for good, to train it to work for you rather than against you," the trees whisper. "Otherwise, you might as well be a tree, too."

"Fine," you say, "but how?" You pretend talking to a tree doesn't bother you, but you surreptitiously glance around. Then you spot him. Wild white hair, spectacles, a saggy open vest over a wrinkled white shirt, its sleeves rolled to the elbows. He winks at you.

"I knew you'd figure it out," he says and sits down beside you. He extends a hand. "Albert."

His grip is strong, the shake firm and warm. You can't help but ask: "Einstein?"

A smile and a "no." You tell him your name.

"You can reprogram your mind, you know," he offers.

You raise your eyebrows.

"Check these out, then come back to talk to me later." He hands you a packet of reading materials about choosing what you want it life.

"Working with the mind is tricky, but it can be done. You are always in control, whether you know it or not." Without another sound, he's gone.

A bird flutters down and lands on a nearby branch. Someone has carved these words below it on the tree trunk:

"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." ~Albert Einstein - mathematician, physicist, genius, philosopher.

"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one." Albert Einstein.