First there is a mountain,
then there is no mountain,
then there is.

Mt. Rainier from Whidbey Island:

...Remember the Buddhist proverb: first there is a mountain, then there is no mountain, then there is...

The spiritual teacher Ram Dass appeared in town recently. On the radio, he was interviewed about his life, his teachings, and his foundation which promotes service projects all over the world. The interviewer was ready to sign off when Ram Dass interrupted him, "you haven't asked me the one crucial question," he said. "What's that?" said the interviewer rather incredulously. "The question my life asks is that after thirty years of devotion to the inner work, how is it that I now give myself to service? How is it that someone so devoted to the inner path comes to this place where the focus is outer -- the world, the community, the planet, the environment -- service?" "What's the answer?" asked the interviewer. "The answer is that this is the culmination of the inner work. The inner work is preparation for the work of the world -- the repair of the world, this is what we have been moving towards."

from "Then There Is (A Mountain)"
by Rabbi James Stone Goodman
http://www.jacsweb.org/article-21.html