reflecting

Going through each day as it comes can be exhausting and confusing. Sometimes life reminds me of that one time I was climbing a 14er (an experience I don’t particularly care to repeat). I remember my lungs burned with every breath I took, and I could barely feel my legs through all the pain. It didn’t help that I was walking right into the wind and snow, either – it felt as if my face was turning to ice, and the visibility was pretty bad, to say the least. Sometimes the snow grew sparse, though, and I’d stop and sit down for a few minutes. I’d look back and realize how much I’d actually managed to climb, and it blew my mind. Even looking ahead and seeing how much I had left to climb didn’t entirely take away from that sense of near-euphoria.

Right now I’m sitting at my desk, thinking. I’m also sitting down on that flat rock and looking around. I’m realizing that there are people, events, circumstances, and places in my life that I wouldn’t have dreamed of several years ago. I’ve walked quite a bit, and the view is pretty spectacular now that I take the time to pay attention to it. I’ve still got a ways to go, though. Maybe I don’t know exactly how much. There have been both scenic paths and steep slopes, and I don’t doubt there will be a lot more of both. It’s worth it, though. And it’s going to be good, because I’m not going alone – there are others walking the same path. Best of all, I’m with the greatest Climbing Guide there is, who’s already come this way before.

In the meantime: all the ice and snow and trees and rocks and the wisps of fog down below-

I see them right now, and like I said, they’re spectacular.