The “tennis mountaintop” is a metaphorical expression of the highest level of tennis enlightenment. What/where could this be? How is it to be attained?

I don’t think it’s about the highest, ultimate success such as number of victories and worldwide ranking. I don’t believe that it is something conferred to us by our deeds on the tennis courts. And, I sense that it is not anything measurable or tangible.

So what is it?

I believe it is a truthful, personal awareness achieved within myself. For example, my tennis mountaintop would be a sense of physical, technical, and age-related limitations offset by the sheer joy of hitting a tennis ball, learning more about the elegance of the game (even if I can’t execute it), and the relationships I’ve made.

There is another, supreme mountaintop and it is found in Mark’s Gospel about the Transfiguration of Christ. (Mark 9:2-9.) Christ is transfigured (changed into His eternal glory) in the presence of Moses (the law-giver), Elijah (representing all the prophets), and His Father. While these are the dominant characters in this remarkable scene, it is we—in the persons of Peter, James, and John—who are given the lesson. And the lesson is this: Listen. Listen to Christ: “Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, ‘this is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!’”

This enlightenment—found in merely the three words “listen to him”—is nothing less than the path to the abundant life.