“Sure, I could take my two weeks vacation time and just fly down to Patagonia. But I'll never get a chance like this one again. If I don't get on that boat, I know exactly what I'm going home to. If I do... my future is unwritten.” -Jeff Johnson*
“Taking a trip for six months, you get into the rhythm of it. It feels like you can just go on forever doing that. Climbing Everest is the ultimate and the opposite of that, 'cause you get all these high-powered plastic surgeons and CEOs... and you know they pay $80,000, and have Sherpas that put all the ladders in place, and 8,000 feet of fixed ropes... You get to your camp and you don't even have to lay out your sleeping bag – it's already laid out with a little chocolate mint on the top.
And the whole purpose of climbing something like Everest is to effect some sort of spiritual and physical gain, but if you compromise the process, you're an asshole when you start out and you're and asshole when you get back.” -Yvon Chouinard*
What's your Everest? That thing so big it takes your breath away just to think about it. That thing you barely remember, pushed so far back in your heart by fear. That thing you just can't shake. That thing you wait for the conditions to be right... what is it?
Do that.
Start the journey. Start the climb. Today. Right now, as a matter of fact.
The time you spend running from it isn't part of the journey. The time you spend trying to forget it isn't part of the journey. The time you spend planning for it isn't part of the journey.
To start the journey you need to... well, start the journey.
Live it.
I promise you, it will be totally worth it.
* quotes from the film 180ยบ South, a brilliant film that has quickly become one of my favourites.
** photo by Heber Vega, a guy who knows how to journey.
6 comments:
And the whole purpose of climbing something like Everest is to effect some sort of spiritual and physical gain, but if you compromise the process, you're an asshole when you start out and you're and asshole when you get back.
what profound wisdom :-)))
lol... I thought so too, Kel. Chouinard is around 70 years old, so it sound even better when you watch him say it. :)
thanks for posting. don't have an answer to your question, which has me thinking... why not? pondering now...
thinking about my mountain....
I'm wondering if you feel like you have climbed your mountain - or at least one of them - after your trip to Iraq!
My mountain might be committing to a long term relationship - loving someone for who they are and through their limitations and my own.
My Everest is this year...
I found out right before the school year started that I was working in the special education dept. Of course, I was happy to still have a job there because I love the school that I work at, but I hadn't worked in special education since 2001. I was scared! This year, by far, is the hardest year that I have ever worked. I have to spend time in prayer every morning. I can't do this job without God. Each day is different, with its own challenges. These babies need to know love!
My Everest is that I will be able to show them love, each and everyday. There are a a few students that seem to have horrible home lives. I don't know what they have been through but they are angry! They are defiant every single day. I am hoping that if I show them unconditional love everyday that maybe their eyes will open to see life a little different. They will hopefully know this great love of God. They are my Everest.
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