The Meaning of Life

I was in an outdoor class. I argued over the use of a certain four letter word. I said I would check it in a dictionary. The nearest dictionary was on a shelf attached near the top of a stone pole which itself was on the top of a small rocky hill.
I climbed up the hill and came to a narrow ravine running horizontally across my path. The summit and pole were not far away but the place was incredibly exposed and scary.
I thought about jumping the ravine but couldn't bring myself to attempt the leap. A railway seemed to rumble along far away at the bottom, below a thin glass roof.
I looked at the stone pole and noted that a rusty vertical ladder was attached to its side and led to the shelf.
A risky jump, a scramble up some loose rock, a steep pull up the ladder and a final long reach was all that lay between me and finding meaning.
Some risks have, perhaps, to be taken.