My Journey; Mount Monadnock

My Journey; Mount Monadnock
by
Lloyd W. Alexander

Henry David Thoreau once walked this mountain long ago and there is little doubt that this mountain gave him inspirations in his writings that we have come to know over the years. One of his quotes that has struck soundly inside of me is as follows,

 “Do not be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of much life. Aim above morality. Be not simply good; be good for something.”

These are words worth following in life. Words that I hope I can follow without becoming too wrapped up within them as I have in my life too this point. I must realize that this life is my life and it can not be lived for anyone else. That the journey’s I take to these mountains are my journeys. I may share them in pictures and I may share them in words but the sweat was mine, the pain was mine, the sense of accomplishment was mine, and the view was mine too. I can share but I can’t give to you what you have not earned. I can share all I want with all of you but in the end it is just a tease and just a taste of what it is to hike a mountain and feel everything it is that you will feel on your journey. Is this not the same in life too? Anything I give to you or is given to me is not earned and likely not as appreciated as if it had been earned. So live the life for your journeys and spread the stories of those journeys to encourage others to take their very own journey towards whatever summit they may choose for themselves. Rather it is a mountain or something else they will be much better for earning it for themselves.

The journey to Monadnock was something that for me is a symbol of my continuation of becoming a man. The continuation of me overcoming my anxiety and facing my own fears. Replacing those fears with dreams that are my dreams, dreams that I can own and I can live. They are not your dreams and that is okay as everyone must follow their own path in life. Monadnock has 40 miles of trails and multiple routes to its summit. You can choose the route you wish to take and face the challenge you want for yourself. Do you take the most direct route which is often the hardest? Or do you take the long way which is often the easiest? Or maybe a combination is something that is right for you. The thing is that no route is wrong and each leads to the summit. We all walk different paths in life and maybe we all end up in the same place in the end. We can only hope.

For me at age 36 the reflection of my life in the mirror is not the reflection I ever thought I would see in my life. I expected things to be different but I know I often thought I was owed something or I chose to blame things of circumstances in my life. The fact is that I chose my reactions and I won’t say they are wrong today because they were my choices and my journey. I will say that it was the long route to where I am today. Now that I am getting my feet under me I can head to a harder and more challenging trail in my life. On the mountains I often take the harder trails and push myself to my limits. Near the top of Monadnock my limits where being pushed as my hiking pole became in operable about half way up and thus my crutch, my aide was no longer of use to me and it was just my body and mind against the ascent. Over the course of the second half of the hike my body began to tire on me and then the last steep slab of rock was before me and my mind began to ask me to turn around. This was something similar to my life as a whole to this point and yet the outcome was different. The pattern of my life would dictate that I turn around because I might fail and I couldn’t do that and thus it was easier to not try whatever it was that I was afraid to fail at. This time though I found the strength within myself to power on and when my legs tired I rested. I rested and then moved on towards the summit. I found the inner strength we all have that sometimes just gets buried with all kinds of self doubt. We have so much strength and power within us if we can just dig deep and overcome ourselves. It is often us, yes, you, that is your own worst enemy. The summit of life is there for all of us to take in for ourselves. It isn’t a story we have to here and be in awe of because we don’t think we can do it. We can, all of can, if we just keep moving at our own pace towards the summit of our dreams.

So what happens when we reach that summit? Well, why not go after the next summit on the horizon and then the next? The journey is yours too mold and yours to guide. Sit at the top and just enjoy the view for as long as you want too. It was your journey and it is your time. Thoreau once said “Everyman is the builder of a temple called his body” and that is true. I ask though why not take this further as I say “Everyman is the builder of a dream called his life.” I am proud that I am making my dream in my own way and sculpting a journey to my own summit of life. I climbed Mount Monadnock just like Thoreau and so many others but the journey to its summit was mine and mine alone. Each step was my step and my way towards the summit. Follow your dreams and carve your own path to the top. The view is yours and you are worth the view. So go earn it.