Woo, whileness

There's an old saying about how kisses shouldn't have to be stolen. If only I could remember what it was. Kisses shouldn't have to be stolen. I dream of a day when they may be given freely... actually that sounds promiscuous and dystopian. Forget that. You know what I mean, though (I hope?).

I trimmed my beard. Not shaved, just trimmed. I don't know why. I got a beard trimmer for my birthday, subtle hint, and when I took it upstairs I just unpacked the scissors and started clipping. Then when I realized what I was doing I had to finish so it wouldn't look lopsided. It's still there, and I can still tug on it when I'm thinking, but it is shorter... itches a bit from time to time. It worries me for reasons I'm not convinced I understand or want to look too much into.

Time for a story.

FAZAM!
...that's not what it sounded like, but you get the idea. My eyes were closed. I was standing on a golden path, built of large squarish tiles with rounded corners. Walls sloped away to either side of me. The sky was golden, and in the distance there was light. I shrugged and started walking. After a minute or so (time passed strangely in this place) there was a trembling and the tile fell out from under my feet. I jumped back and looked down into an infinitely black pit. Oh yeah, these weren't just foot-sized tiles. They were big, covering the entire path. So there was a hole in front of me and no way around it.
This is one of those leap of faith things, isn't it? I said. Okay, here goes... so without really thinking about it I just walked out. Of course I fell. A blink and I was back on the path, facing the hole. Okay, I said, that doesn't work... it's got to be a leap, then. I sized up the hole, looked down at my feet, then ran and leaped. I managed to land half on the next tile and half off. With great effort I pulled myself up.
This isn't real, I said. This is in my head. I can leave here whenever I want. I just have to open my eyes. So I did. The real world clicked back into focus. Then Crik! Nak! FAZAM! My eyes clanged shut and I found myself back on the golden path again.
Okay... I thought. Then there was another tremor and the tile I was standing on started to drop. I jumped for the next one but it started to fall as well. So I ran, tiles shuddering under my feet and dropping away behind me. A shimmering, then a golden crystal ladder shot out of the path in front of me. I ran to it and started climbing just seconds before the last tile dropped. At this point I thought Oh, I get it... this is some sort of trial, isn't it? I reached the top. Then the ladder started to fall backwards, back the way I had come. It was a big ladder. At last it slammed down, leaving me dangling from it into the darkness. I crawled up the side painfully. The ladders flat back had become a new path. I sat up on it, but somehow couldn't get my feet up. I stayed like this for some time. At last; Oh, I see. This is holy ground. I have to take off my shoes, don't I? So I did. My feet came up. I stood and started walking.
I looked up. This is some sort of message, isn't it? The trial is metaphorical. When the obvious solution doesn't work, then look to Your answers... but the running and jumping thing is to tell me that I have to put my faith in myself before I leave everything to You.
Am I right? But my eyes opened.
Some time after there was a part two, but I won't talk about that right now.