Mice in a Maze

There are times when, in reflecting on my life and observations, I really marvel about how blindly we wander this earth, always moving forward, looking and at times not looking for something we know not. It makes me think of lab rats in a maze, being tested or taught by an invisible scientist/doctor. The mouse is driven, I presume, by the scent of cheese or food. The mouse at one level knows why it is going forward, yet at another level, does it really know why it is there? The smell of cheese may be obvious, but what is less obvious is why the cheese is hidden from the mouse? How did it get into the maze in the first place? Why is it in the maze? What happens once the mouse finally gets the cheese? Still the mouse runs on, sniffing here and there, climbing this, squeezing through that. Does the mouse stop to question the what's and whys of its little existence? Or does it just run, happy to run blindly through the maze chasing that temporal goal of cheese?

Am I a mouse in a maze, or worse, a trap? I exist, and I run, although at times I sit and rest - but always I get up again and run, trying to find my way through the maze of streets, relationships, dreams, and fears. Why am I here? How did I get here? Is there a purpose, or am I just running blind? Any answers I seem to find lead to more questions, and too often I don't know what questions I should be asking. Why do I even ask questions, why not just run? Why do I care? Questions, questions, questions. I turn left, turn back, climb over the wall and squeeze through the hole - I'm going, I'm coming, but where? What is the point, and again, why should there be a point? Why should I ask, why should I know - and how can I tell if I do know?

"To know unconsciously is best.
To presume to know what you don't is sick.
Only by recognizing the sickness of sickness is it possible not to be sick.
The sages' freedom from ills was from recognizing the sickness of sickness, so they
didn't suffer from sickness."
Tao Te Ching