I felt the strain in my legs and a deepening of breath. I hadn’t been walking up this mountain for long but thoughts of stopping, of easing up were already present. As I continued the climb my mind relaxed and wandered backwards in time to the Himalayas where I had had this lesson of remembrance before.
It had only been day one of 10, and due to illness my body had been weak. After the first day I had collapsed upon a bed in a cabin and my mind had been filled only with the thought of giving up there and then.
But something made me decide to give it another shot with one condition – I would do it my way or no way at all – of that I was somehow very determined.
In that Himalayan journey I discovered that my body was more than prepared to climb the Himalayas provided I listened to myself, provided I discovered and followed quite literally, my own unique rhythm which was actually aligned with the nature of things and of course, with nature itself. It wasn’t new at all but quite ancient and wholly filled with some wisdom my body knew all about.
Yesterday, as I was climbing again, I was reminded of my time in Nepal; and there it was again, my rhythm, and my tiny, persistent steps that would get me there. This mountain whispered to me, reminding me to notice what surrounded the thoughts, what existed a little further on. And the thoughts told me I knew how to climb this mountain and I knew I could climb it. So as remembrance accompanied me, excitement brewed as I got to the hardest incline. Yes, excitement, because I remembered that I already know how to climb mountains my way; and my way was opening out with each step.
And as the angle of the ground shifted into a steep incline, I fell into my rediscovered rhythm. I did not stop, and my whole being trusted itself again.
Challenge filtered in and sparks of energy lit up inside me.
“How did I get to the summit” I asked myself?
“In a heart beat” I answered.