when i turned away from things that made you sad

the mountain in front of me looked like it would be impossible for me to climb

i got messages from others who had made the journey and they said it wasn’t easy but it was possible

they gave me this book to read and suggested that i hit my knees and ask for enough strength to climb each day

hell, i would have done anything , my world was dangling on a string, one good storm would have blown me away and i was ready for someone else to have a go at running my life

i started reading and hanging out with other climbers,  we new we were gonna need each other along the way

at first i would climb and the wind or rain would come and i would turn around and go back to the base camp

then i asked this guy who was always smiling and seemed happy if he would consider training me for the climb

he said, ”sure, i’ll show you what i know, but you have to make the climb yourself” …………… we read this guidebook together and practiced climbing and talked as we climbed

wasn’t long before i felt stronger and he showed me how to set up camps along the way and to stock them for those rainy days, which he said were gonna come

i kept close to him and then one day he said, ”you are ready to help another climber, just like i have been helping you,  i will be here for you when you need me”

i was scared, but he said there was only one way to the top, by taking others with you, that we shared the load together that’s how we made it

so a new climber asked me for help and that got my mind off me and i began to feel better about the climb…………………that it was doable

i would still climb with my guide but we talked about the new climber more than we talked about me and that seemed good………..very good

my guide said, ” you are learning a different perspective through him”…………………i could see that

one morning the air was brisk and the sun bright and i gathered a few things and started climbing……………………………the grade gradually changed and before long it was almost flat…………………………”what is going on,” i said to myself

off in the distance a group was walking towards me and smiling and clapping

i could see my guide and he was grinning from ear to ear

he said, ”the mountain was in your mind, you made it from all the fears you developed because you weren’t willing to face the truth and be responsible for you life………now there will be other hills and valleys that’s part of life, but if you can be honest about who you, what you are and have a vision of where you want to go, you never have to climb this mountain again”

so that’s what i did, he continues to guide me, i guide others and this chain is very strong because it keeps pulling people up their mountain and new climbers come all the time

i have found it to be very fulfilling to be a guide and my guide stops me if he see me starting another mountain