Skip to main content

The Climb

     Sometimes we all need to get away. We need to leave everything behind and take a breath, or two, or three. We need to readjust our perspective on those things which are really important. This is not easy in the lives we lead. The lives filled with demands, responsibilities, and expectations. However, right now I am away. I was blessed to be given the gift of time. Time away from all that usually makes it hard for me to think. I am refueling my tank and taking time to process. I am breathing deeply and working on finding clarity.
     While here I have visited with old friends. Friends who knew me long before I was a mother. Friends who I have no reason to try to impress. Friends who remember when life was far less complicated and demanding. Friends who listen and share in the same struggles of motherhood. It is a fold that I belong to. A fabric of who I am to have these friendships that have stood the test of time and distance. Picking up right where we left off the last time we able to take a breath.
     In this time we have talked, we have cried. We have shared in great wine and played roulette for the first time. We got way too little sleep and saw beautiful sights. And while on one of our treks up the mountain it hit me. How hard it is to REALLY see what is happening around you.
     While we were hiking up to one of the most beautiful and peaceful spots I have ever seen I almost couldn't focus on all the beauty around me. It was a tough hike. I was struggling with altitude and sucking wind. Each step, if not taken correctly, could lead to quite an injury on unforgiving rocks. So my eyes were constantly down. My mind was looking for just the right foothold. And sometimes, okay, more than a couple times I had to stop. I had to stop to breathe.
     But stopping, was actually a gift. Stopping forced me to look around. It wasn't until I was forced to stop that I actually saw all the beauty that was around me. All the natural wonders that are gifts to us. The tall trees and bright green moss. The flowing water coming from snow capped mountains.
     And when I stopped, and when I really adjusted my focus to what was surrounding me, I was able to catch my breath. I was able to take a moment and get the energy to keep climbing. My friend, who has hiked this path many times before me, just waited patiently. She didn't rush me. She didn't tease me for having to breathe. She too just looked around and saw the beauty.
     This was the view once we got to our final destination. Eagle Lake. It was so worth the climb.

     Looking at life, the climb is often rough. We are focusing on the here and now, the mundane and rote. We are so worried about the next step and not falling flat on our faces either literally or metaphorically. The beauty and relationships that surround us are lost and just casually sitting on the sidelines while we trudge a path that often sucks the wind right out of us. Life is hard. There is often no trail guide that tells us what step to take and which rock to avoid. But sometimes in life, there are friends who have been where you have been. They just wait for you a couple of paces ahead, quietly encouraging you, and giving you the gift of patience, because they know your strength. They know you will get there, and once you do, what a beautiful sight to behold.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

A Bee-U-tiful New Journey

            Two years ago, I took a leap of faith.  A door opened and I walked through it.   To say it was not scary leaving something that for 20 years had become my normal routine, would be a lie. Doubt filled thoughts danced through my head. Would I like the new change? Would it financially work out? What if it was short lived? What would I do then?   However,  there was this voice inside my head. It was quiet, yet persistent. It said, Take the Risk .             Looking back now, I believe that this voice was the Holy Spirit. I decided to listen and not look back.  This journey has taken me to so many physical and emotional places and it has been an amazing journey.  I have met positive visionaries from all over the world. People who are now part of the tapestry of my life. They are threads that continue to add dimension and color to the ever changing art piece.   ...

A Woman I Know

     There is a woman I know.  She often times speaks about her children and all the funny things they say and do. They are truly the best and most wonderful gifts she was ever bestowed. This I know to be true. But then I see her loose her patience at those same children she so claims to love. Her voice becomes harsh and quick and her eyes pulse with irritation. When she does this, a piece of my heart breaks for her. I know later she will feel the guilt only a mother knows.      There is another woman I know. She reads things in books and then relives them in her dreams. She watches documentaries and they root themselves into her heart. She feels aortic tugs when she learns about children suffering and shares these stories with her own children. There are photos on her fridge of children throughout the world. She wants her kids to know that they must always look to help others. When I hear her talk to her children, I become inspired. I want to be mor...

Seeds of Tomorrow

      New Beginnings are an exciting time.  Things are both fresh and fragile. There is both an anticipation and wonder of what will be. It is a time of learning and exploration as well as reflection and planning.             New beginnings are also just, that. NEW. They give us a chance to start over with a fresh slate. Maybe it is a new haircut,  a new house, a new job, or even just a new daily routine. The amazing part of this is that each day we are greeted with newness, even if we don't change anything about our lives. The fact that the day starts over fresh and new is our reset button. We even have the opportunity to hit that reset button in the middle of the day. It is our choice.             Yet many of us, myself included,  rush through our routines with to-do lists that never get completed and end our days with just as much frustration and stress as the day before. ...