Having grown up staying in both urban and rural settings in Africa, I recall the mountains that I used to see when I was young and how intimidating, domineering and overbearing they seemed at that age. Visiting the same places and looking at the same mountains now, they are less intimidating and have become seemingly smaller as I have grown older over the years while they have remained the same. It is exactly the same mighty mountain which seemed impossible to conquer at some point but now it is even tempting to climb and explore, and is not as scary anymore. The mountain has largely remained the same, maybe even losing its mass to weathering, but I have not been static. I have grown both in stature and perspective in the way I view my surroundings and the world at large. This seems like the story of life where a problem (mountain) on first encounter can be quite insurmountable and impossible to handle, but the same problem encountered again at another time becomes easier to handle and overcome after the first experience and coming full circle to the second one. The problem would however still probably be exactly the same as before. Mountains come in many types, shapes and sizes both literally and figuratively in life, with mountains of relationships, careers, finances, academics, health and many others. We all face a mountain at various points in our lives, but we do not face the same mountain with the same perspective twice, unless we are not growing. With growth we can recognize mountains that we or others have faced before and be able to draw on our experiences or those of others to conquer them second time around. Growing oneself
Consistent and continuous growth is one way to overcome mountains of life and start Breaking the block of fear that would once have ruled us. It is imperative to grow oneself not only passively in age nor physically in stature, but also actively, mentally and emotionally in perspective in order to be able to conquer the mountains of life that keep trying to hinder our success. In a gym, there is progression that occurs for a body builder from the day he/she starts a work out plan. Supposing its a man, he starts off with small weights avoiding the heavy ones and possibly wondering how others are lifting those heavy dumbbells. He then progressively increases the kilograms or pounds with time as the body adjusts and grows to handle more. It is much the same that happens in life that the first time one faces a mountain they do not have enough muscle to overcome it and may crumble under pressure, but with time one gets used to the mountain and can even helps others overcome while dealing with much bigger mountains at the same time. It is more difficult for a younger person to handle relationships, for example, than it is for an older person, because of the growth that has occurred within the older person through time. Most of the mountains people face are typically the same and have been faced by another person before. Life is about enlargement and growth through mostly learning and education, trial and error and shared experiences. Reading is always mentioned as a good way to grow oneself and this cannot be ignored. Trying new things and exploring is a good way of facing mountains and learning how to deal with them in future. Listening and applying the testimonies of others gives a perspective of how a mountain can be conquered with the benefit of hindsight. The brain is enriched in one's life through stimulation and sustained curiosity, without which no mental growth occurs. No two brains are alike, even for identical twins, there are mutations that occur in brain cells causing them to be different with time. It is therefore how each person develops their brain that determines the kind of mountains they can overcome. I know that as I have explored and enlarged my perspective of life together with my dreams, aspirations and goals, certain mountains that used to intimidate and scare me have become small and irrelevant to my life and I have ventured to climb many of those mountains I would only look at from a distance. Have you got mountains that have needed your own personal growth through time to take them on and come out victorious?
Great blog, it is insightful and spiritual. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us.
ReplyDeleteFear is the biggest hurdle to overcome, right? The Mount Everest of life's obstacles. Especially in a world where fear seems to dominate. But with each fear I tackle, that big old mountain shrinks a little more. Nice Post Welli
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post Willi. We have many high mountains in our live's, created, imagined or not. Learning the overcome the fear that we associate with not being able to climb and succeed I believe to be one of our biggest hurdles. However, we can build our confidence with every step and ultimate success, which then reduces our perception of how high or difficult our "mountain" is. Just my thoughts. :-)
ReplyDeleteI like the concept of people growing but not mountains. Fortunately we tend to grow wiser as we age and gain experience. And then the mountains seem to be climbable hills.
ReplyDeleteI love the mountain metaphor. Taking each of life's challenges as they come, and getting over or through each, certainly chips away at the mountain of life.
ReplyDeleteLove the insights, as usual Welli.
Everything from the childhood environment appears to shrink and lose it's dominion over us as we age. That is a good thing but along with that there are other losses; mystery, imagination, wonder. Sometimes these are lost or reduced as well. Your point is well taken though Welli and I think, hope, that we all grow and approach an obstacle for the second time with much greater appreciation, experience, and fortitude than in round one.
ReplyDeleteHi welli; thanks for sharing your prospective on moutons both litral and figurative. I think i am still learning where it comes to relationships with women. I also have days when i use what i know with my family and other days when i forget all my lessons. thanks for sharing, max
ReplyDeleteHi Welli - I love the mountain metaphor and the way we grow while the mountains remain stagnant. I agree that as we get older, the mountains become easier to climb, even though there will always be some that are more difficult than others.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
Lenie
Hi Welli,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great inspirational post!!!! I love your word picture and how you use it to help us understand that in the end things are not as they always appear and the things that scar us can be overcome.
I learned a long time ago that 99% of the things we fear will never happen. In fact, most of the thing we fear that do happen are because we self sabotage and ultimately get the outcomes we work towards, even if we don't realize it.
Instead of living in fear and scarcity, it's much better to learn to be optimistic and positive.
I enjoyed your post immensely.
~ Don Purdum
Great reminder that we can grow up to solve our problems.
ReplyDeleteYou have to step over the stones in your path. They will always be there but if you let them stop you obstacles will overcome you. It's mostly stones, not mountains:-)
ReplyDeleteLife is indeed full of mountains, but I work hard to keep on climbing. I've often wondered what factors go into a person turning out as one who never gives up or one who gives in.
ReplyDeleteI agree, as we get older the mountains do seem smaller and, to me, so do our problems and challenges. The advantage of living life and collecting lots of experiences. Good metaphor and nice post.
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