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| Me, fully alive at the top of Bard Peak...can you tell? |
Climbing mountains makes me feel completely awake, alert, and alive! There is no other experience that is as fulfilling for my body, mind, and spirit. Every climb, despite the different geography, different weather conditions, different companions, and different results, energizes my whole being.
During the ascent my body comes alive. The first mile of the climb creates aching thighs and gasping lungs. After the first mile my endorphins kick in and my body begins to feels alive. My heart is pumping and blood is flowing from top to bottom. The legs still ache and the lungs still struggle for oxygen but they now seem to be motivated to pursue the goal.
Meanwhile my mind is rebelling to the same degree that my legs and lungs are. We always start our climbs early in the morning, around 5:30. Let the record show that I am not a morning person. My mind does its best to convince me that being in bed would be a much better alternative and this is the best time to turn around. If that doesn’t work, my mind will try to convince my left knee or my right hip that it is not strong enough to continue and our whole self should turn around lest we get stranded high up in the mountains. Then the second mile begins and the endorphin rush causes my mind to become alert. I must pay careful attention to navigation, the challenges on the trail, and the ever-changing weather conditions. My mind is fully engaged in the successful pursuit of this goal!
The only part of my being that is prepared for the pursuit is the spiritual side of me. I know from experience what to expect from beginning to end, good and bad. I feel fully alive when I experience the beauty of the created order that is revealed to me with each step up. I feel fully alive when I get above the treeline and see the expansiveness of this part of creation. This feeling is expanded when standing on the top of a mountain. I also feel fully alive when I recognize the loneliness at the top of the mountain. As beautiful as it is, it is not capable of sustaining life. This creates in me a deep appreciation for the life and relations back down in the valley. I am convinced that is where we are created to thrive, sometimes it takes a mountaintop to remind me.
It sounds silly to say this but I enjoy feeling alive. I also tend to become lethargic in body, mind, and spirit. As such, I must intentionally pursue abundant, whole life. There are many kinds of exercises and activities that awaken my body. My mind can become alert when I am reading a good book or solving a difficult problem. My spirit becomes alive when I allow God to reveal himself to me in nature, word, or people. Walking to the tops of mountains, with all of its challenges, danger, and possibility, is the way I have found to energize all parts of me simultaneously. It is here that I feel fully alive. That is why, dear Mother, that I climb mountains.
