THE MOUNTAINS
This summer I spent my holidays in the mountains with my family. It was refreshing and rejuvenating. Why, you might ask? What could possibly push a lazy lady like me to spend my holidays sweating on the dirty paths meandering through rocks, trees, dust and wind? What is it about the mountains that makes me feel happy, not lying idly on a beach?
To me, it is the sense of accomplishment you feel when you climb a mountain; it is far more rewarding to reach the summit than lounge around in the shade, under a palm tree. Walking up steep hills requires perseverance where you are in a constant struggle with yourself: on the one hand you want to turn around and go home, but there is always a part that will regret not reaching the top.
However, we walk and climb not always to reach a specific place, but also to see how resilient our bodies and minds are. We go up as much as our tired limbs allow us in order to prove to ourselves that we can do it. We do not compete with anybody else. We just try to test ourselves.
We start early in the morning when the sun has not yet fully risen and we walk till dusk with a short stop for lunch. We walk and walk and walk. Sometimes, we cross other people, most of the time foreigners (mostly Germans), we exchange the occasional greeting and then we are back again by ourselves. It is not the case that we share with other people the experience. Nobody, even my sister and my parents, will share the same experience as I do. Each voyage up the mountainside is unique emotional journey.
Yes, we talk and chat and laugh, but this is only occasional banter. Then we return to our own thoughts, because, at the end of the day, we are not really interested in gossiping. We are interested in our own journey, in our fight with ourselves, in our testing of ourselves.
And then, when we finally reach the top, a sudden joy fills us. It is the joy of accomplishment. It is the feeling of having been able to do it. But it isn’t all about where we go or what we reach. It is the journey in getting there that is important and what we learn in the process about ourselves.
Indeed, how many other times during our frantic and hectic lives do we learn about ourselves? During the year, we wake up, go to school, interact, do homework, party, play sport, but how many times do we really self-reflect? This is the beauty of walking and climbing.
To me, it is the sense of accomplishment you feel when you climb a mountain; it is far more rewarding to reach the summit than lounge around in the shade, under a palm tree. Walking up steep hills requires perseverance where you are in a constant struggle with yourself: on the one hand you want to turn around and go home, but there is always a part that will regret not reaching the top.
However, we walk and climb not always to reach a specific place, but also to see how resilient our bodies and minds are. We go up as much as our tired limbs allow us in order to prove to ourselves that we can do it. We do not compete with anybody else. We just try to test ourselves.
We start early in the morning when the sun has not yet fully risen and we walk till dusk with a short stop for lunch. We walk and walk and walk. Sometimes, we cross other people, most of the time foreigners (mostly Germans), we exchange the occasional greeting and then we are back again by ourselves. It is not the case that we share with other people the experience. Nobody, even my sister and my parents, will share the same experience as I do. Each voyage up the mountainside is unique emotional journey.
Yes, we talk and chat and laugh, but this is only occasional banter. Then we return to our own thoughts, because, at the end of the day, we are not really interested in gossiping. We are interested in our own journey, in our fight with ourselves, in our testing of ourselves.
And then, when we finally reach the top, a sudden joy fills us. It is the joy of accomplishment. It is the feeling of having been able to do it. But it isn’t all about where we go or what we reach. It is the journey in getting there that is important and what we learn in the process about ourselves.
Indeed, how many other times during our frantic and hectic lives do we learn about ourselves? During the year, we wake up, go to school, interact, do homework, party, play sport, but how many times do we really self-reflect? This is the beauty of walking and climbing.