Climbing Mountains
I’ve been doing lots of hiking lately –my favorite trail is tucked in the trees along the creek, and less elevation change for my Minnesota lungs. Every other day or so, I challenge myself to climb the nearby mountains to get the view from above and test the limits of my body. Today was a mountain climbing day.
The trail I chose was one I attempted before but ran out of time to reach the peak. Instead of switchbacks, it is straight up, and judging by the width of the trail, quite likely a runoff point for snowmelt in the spring. The height I reached on my first attempt was impressive in its own right, but the extra distance I climbed today was steeper than anything I remember climbing. I found a suitable fallen tree branch to assist me as a walking stick on my ascent and reminded myself with each step that if I imagined the ground flat, all I needed to do was step forward. I took a few breaks to breathe and pushed myself to the summit.
Time was, once again, of essence, so I didn’t have time to sit down and soak it all in. I took a few photos and prepared to hurry back down to my duties in the valley.
I neglected to consider my descent as I pushed myself toward my goal of making it to the top. As I looked down the steep grade I had just climbed, my heart skipped a beat. Things could go south with one misstep, and I was frightened.
I had to get back, though, so with my branch in hand, I took the first step... and the next, and the next, marveling at those I had witnessed passing me on their way up with no problem. Uffdah – there I was comparing myself when all it did was make me dim my own accomplishment. Focus, Margaret!
I made it down and back to the house on time, but not without a slide and a trip that made me gasp. I stayed upright, but my nerves were shaken. When it came time to tell my story, I began to cry – not just tears falling from my eyes, but a surprising adrenaline release that made me catch my breath again!
It occurred to me that my experience ascending and descending the mountain this morning, a mere three-mile round trip hike, is similar to what so many people I know are going through. For some, it’s a health problem that requires surgery – all the appointments and prep work are ascending the mountain to the day of surgery, the descension, which is supposed to be “easier”, has its own obstacles. The true exhale may not come until much later, and surprise you with its intensity. Some of you, your mountain is mental health – waiting for that moment of sure-footing before trusting it’s okay to believe you’re “safe”. There are those whose mountains are relationships, jobs (or lack thereof), or institutions.
We are all in various places on the mountain: some at the foot, looking at the enormous peak in front of them, some part way up looking at steeper challenges than they have faced in their life, some have made it to the peak and realized the “easy part” isn’t as easy as they pretended when they were just putting one foot in front of the other, some are losing their sure footing on the way down and their hearts are racing, and some have made it to the bottom again, but there’s no time to celebrate just yet. When they have caught their breath and life is a little more “normal”, they may gasp at the enormity of what they just accomplished and sob.
Whether your mountain is literal, physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual, know that you’ve got this! You have a team of angels cheering you on when you feel all alone. Ask them for help. And, when you’re back on solid ground and you feel overwrought with emotion, know that this feeling will pass too and leave you with a feeling of accomplishment.
My youngest niece said it best, “You didded it!”
