New Fascination

Most people know my new fascination with mountains and mountain climbing. I owe it all to a good friend from the NAC who told me about Jon Krakauer's account of the 1996 disaster on Everest, Into Thin Air. I couldn't put the book down; it was well-written and captivated me beyond belief. I've never quite understood peoples' reasons for climbing mountains, especially Everest. His work allowed me small insights into various climbers' minds which I found really informative and compelling. Many humans have climbed to the peaks of mountains to connect with a higher source of understanding and have come back down feeling stronger and wiser.

So now I am completely enthralled with mountains and the dangers, mysteries and legends associated with them. Mountains have always captured my imagination, calling me to scale their heights and pay homage to their greatness. To me, they symbolize vision, the ability to rise above the adjacent lowlands and see beyond our immediate vicinity. From the top of a mountain we are able to witness life from a new perspective. We can take the whole thing in with a single glance, regaining our composure and our sense of proportion as we realize how much bigger this world is than we sometimes remember it to be. It frees us from the perceived trap of our limited vision.

So I have placed a picture of a mountain (my now favorite, Everest) on my desk at work to remind me of my humble place in the whole grand scheme of life, and to inspire me to be bold and keep fighting no matter how hard the climb.