February 11: We started up the mountain trail. It was as steep as we had ever experienced. Each step was a moment of deliberate concentration. The sweat was real, the burning in the muscles was real, the no turning back was real.
Some times we find ourselves right in the middle of it. Some times as the burn is taking place, as the sweat is forming, the realization sets in that there is no turning back.
We stopped and looked up the Himalaya mountain range knowing that there was no stopping to be had, no taxi to call, no bed to escape to, no cellphone to grab to ask for assistance. It was just the moment, the challenge, the no excuse, the digging deep, the smile coming onto the face as we said to ourselves….we were born for this moment.
As we arrived as the camp site,2 hours later,exhausted and satisfied we knew that ,at any time, the road gets steep, the obstacles can be severe, the sweat is real, the challenge is present but it is then that you dig deep, smile, and even say…thank you for providing the opportunity to continue to test myself. And yes…at any age. Challenges are ageless. The steep incline is ageless. And we are too,if we choose to be. We slept well that night. It was a peaceful sleep because we knew we expended all our efforts in the day. We left nothing on the table. At the end of your journey, make sure you leave nothing on the table. Rather, you want to be able to say, what a climb, what an effort,what a measure of a person. Well done.