While attending the 1999 Enterprise Architecture Forum,
sponsored by the
Zachman Institute for Framework Advancement,
I told myself that, if I woke early enough to avoid the heat of the day,
I would hike up the mountain behind the conference site,
fully expecting that I would sleep until breakfast time.
When the occupant of an adjoining room set the alarm (loudly) for 5:15am,
I knew that fate had called me to the mountain.
While climbing up and down, I received the following enlightenment
from the mountain:
If you always choose the easiest step as the next step,
you're likely to end up in a blind canyon.
But if you walk with your eyes only fixed on the distance,
you're certain to slip.
Watch where you grab, it probably has spines.
Test where you step next;
however firm that rock looks, it might be loose.
Just because others began a route
doesn't mean that they completed it.
The applicability of the final message puzzled me a bit
until I realized that it was about legacy systems.
Going down is harder than going up.
This message has several sub-texts as well...
When you start down you will have lost track
of the way that you came up.
Streambeds may be rougher, but they provide much better
hand- and foot-holds.
Going down sitting down may not be elegant,
but it's better than going ass-over-elbows.
The route that is otherwise the best way down has a big cactus
in the middle of it.
When you finally reach the bottom, someone will offer you a ride.