Many lessons have come to me from rock climbing and mountaineering. This image specifically reminds me of two. It was taken on the morning of our descent as we were driving away.
Lesson 1 – Sometimes, the mountain we need to climb feels like it is too much. But we need to simply change our perspective and try to enjoy each moment, each step. The true beauty is looking around at each moment to see what is presenting itself and changing as we proceed.
Lesson 2 – I have always been a goal girl. Complete. Check. Next goal. Complete Check. Repeat. Climbing mountains and routes was no different. I was always a bit disappointed that we did not get to summit Mount Taranaki. Part of our group needed to descend and we all stuck together. While I don’t tend to hold on to many regrets, I have often wished we had completed this summit. Recently, as I was explaining this photo to some of my students, I realized that not summiting was part of the journey I needed to have. To face disappointment, and yet still embrace the amazing journey.
The image to the left was looking out from our camp three-quarters of the way up Mount Taranaki and was our wake up call to get moving on our descent. These two images and many of the experiences of this weekend are burned into my memory with fondness … none of which need to be hampered by not completing the ultimate goal.