“You’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting,
So… get on your way!”
~Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You’ll Go!
There it is. It looms large over me blocking my path, blackening out the sun and staring me straight in the face. It is icy cold and hard as rock and its jagged peak lies someplace beyond the clouds where I cannot see. It sits outside my door haunting me…taunting me..whispering “I am the way, I am salvation. I am the path to be followed and through me lies freedom.” I can’t ignore it. I have tried that. I have made excuses, I have lied to myself…I have even denied it’s existence but it is there just as it’s always been.
It is that very thing I think I cannot do that I must do. The very thing that blocks me. It is my mountain and it is mine alone to climb. No matter what I do in life, no matter what other mountains I may climb it is this one and this one alone that is essential; for by scaling its peaks I conquer myself and that can be a very steep climb indeed.
We all have our mountains, some people seem to immediately recognize them and with no apparent effort at all bound right over them. Most find theirs in time and slowly ascend and through trial and error, a little luck and determination make it over the hump and on their way without too many bruises. And then there are others like myself who for whatever reason have yet to begin the climb.
I suppose I am writing this for you, for us…for we that linger near base camp…looking to the sky at that damned mountain. Make any excuse you want. I think it’s fear; fear of the unknown…fear of failure…fear of looking like an idiot…fear of being myself…fear of dreaming, of risking, of trying and failing…of wanting and not getting. Fear of not being enough….or too much. I have been hiding so long from what I thought was the world but in fact I think I’ve been hiding all this time from me.
And that mountain is me. It is myself that I must conquer. It is all my faults and mistakes….my vulnerabilities that I must own along with the rest and it is those sweet bits of goodness that make it all worthwhile. Many many years from now when I am on my deathbed reflecting back on my life it will be atop that mountain, wind in my hair, sun on my face and I will look down on all that was and know I did my best. And that’s all any of us can do…Stuff to ponder…
Have an excellent day my friends,
♥
Nancy
“Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you’re climbing it.”
~Andy Rooney
Mountain Sounds
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Life Is Color 
I think you are farther up your mountain than you give yourself credit for. You have to have explored many of its paths and crevasses to write this post. And you are a shining beacon from exactly where you are, showing us that the climb is possible, despite all our fears.
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Janet, You are very kind my friend, very kind indeed…thanks. 🙂
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Mountains, too true we are often our own mountain. Still, as Rooney said climbing is half the fun. A great post Nancy 🙂
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Thanks Niaaeryn. 🙂 Yes the climb is half the fun just don’t look down.
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RE: shifting from parasympathetic dominance to sympathetic dominance
Fear is actually manufactured in the base or R-brain (reptilian brain) … some research indicates that it may take 6 weeks of daily relaxing mindful meditation to greatly reduce tendencies to flight-or-fight responses… when we have patterns (practice) of anger/dominance/resentment or self-pity/shame/guilt, we become dominated by the lower brain function – the R-brain that dominates us then is fearful and angry or sad and perhaps then we may be confrontational or withdrawn.
Its hard to report my progress because I can’t produce charts on it. However, I am generally positive and I tend to strongly move toward being loving kindness presently – over years, this grew… in recent years, I concentrate time very day and progress is strengthening me daily.
There is possibly always some climbing remaining. I know positively though that fear is no longer dominant. I ‘know’ we all do our best with what we are and have and can do. I know we may always make greater progress and I do my best to keep wanting to make greater progress.
Thanks for posting this visual reminder… I too need visualizations.
~ Eric
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You are an education Eric and that is fantastic! Thank you.
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aw, shucks… Thank you Nancy; you are very sweet and I love artistic views
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Thank you for reminding me this, it’s so easy to forget. Hope you’re having a great day 🙂
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Thank you too Steve. 🙂
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And ponder I will! You always manage to get me thinking about life and “stuff”! The question may also be “What is on the other side of the mountain..?” Have a happy week, and happy climbing! 😉
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Being satisfy’d with a lifetime– ’tis one’s preeminent reward. Peace.
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Very wise. 🙂
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Very wise.. Nothing will make you happy, people places or things. Only inner happiness is what it’s about..
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Very true my friend. 🙂
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Tell me your mountain top is looking a bit more happy..
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I can say that so far I am a happy climber. So how are You…happy too?
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I’m in a state of transition…transition into what I haven’t a clue.. Is it waiting for the next shoe to drop or going out a getting a new shoe… Who knows:)
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Chances have it I am in the very same spot. Isn’t that something?
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It’s like I’m Jim Morrison and I want to break on thru to the other side but I’m waiting for the other side to come to me… Weird I know..
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People are strange, haha couldn’t resist. Good luck with that other side coming to you. Perhaps you can perfect that come hither look and coax it a bit. 😉
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Faces come out of the rain when you’re strange and btw no one remembers your name… When you’re odd.
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You leave me pondering, as usual! 😉
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Hey Gunta! Glad to do it… 😉
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nice 🙂
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Thank you Akriti. 🙂
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🙂
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