We are all fascinated by the beauty, wildness, and sense of adventure that a mountain portrays. But what is it that makes them stand out and capture our attention, besides their sheer height? Why do they hold our admiration as we endeavor to seek them out and explore them, or to merely rest at their feet?
There is something mysterious about them, untamed and dangerous, that beckons us to their lofty peaks. Like a dangerous magical box that we are forbidden to open, we are called by the possibility of what great exploits it may hold.
The Adventure
No matter what you plan for, mountains will always reveal the unexpected. From the beauty that you stumble upon in their ever-changing environments, to the friendships you experience in like-minded people you meet along the way, you never know what you are going to encounter. But the most adventurous of these are the unexpected risks. Mountains are packed with ample opportunity for injury or possibly loss of life: freezing nights, river rapids, falling rocks, surviving off of the land, rushing down the slopes, or hiking and climbing daunting peaks. One should never underestimate them. But with great risk can comes great reward, and an adventure must have risk because without it, reward is bland and luke warm, leaving you with no taste of accomplishment or challenge to overcome.
The Challenge
Every year mountaineers come from around the world to search out and conquer these high peaks. Why. You’ll never know till you try, and when you do, you get it. You see it while you’re hiking up and down the mountain through a simple nod or a comment from a fellow explorer. It’s not about telling your friends or posting a picture on social media. It’s about finding yourself, knowing your limits, and meeting them despite how sore, tired, and hungry you are. And when you arrive you know you have earned the reward, whether that be the incredible meal you plan to enjoy when you get back, the fellowship you have on the way, or the pure beauty of the view that all peaks bestow on those who take their rightful seat at the rooftop of the world.
The Beauty
Mountains contain so much beauty that it’s difficult to take it all in; it feels like there’s simply too much to process. Whether you are fishing on the banks of a creek, driving over a pass, or hiking to the top of a peak, every part of a mountain contains immense beauty that is begging to be appreciated. When you stand at a summit and gaze upon the world below, the magnificence of it all can make you feel small yet significant, fragile yet empowered, ungrateful yet awestruck, all at the same time.
These are important emotions to experience and process. A person can look at all the pictures he likes, but he can’t truly understand it unless he sees it for himself. My wife had her first trip to the Rockies on our one year anniversary, and she didn’t understand why I wanted to go camping in the mountains, until we went. Now it’s in her blood. John Denver had it right.
The Purity
Mountains are the tip of the globe where all life begins. The water is clean, the air is fresh, the color is vivid, and it all literally goes down from there. When I was younger we lived on a ranch on the side of a mountain, with a creek from which we received our drinking water. It was so fresh and so clean clean, ha. If we could understand and encapsulate the purity of a mountain and carry that same frame of mind all the way home with us down to the oceans, we could change the world. But we disregard this gift with every bit of trash that we don’t consider more carefully before discarding. It only takes consideration, not just of the world, but of each other.
The Peacefulness
Mountains have the ability to hush the world, and the closer you get to them, the more you feel their silence that beckons you to just shut your mouth and listen. Hear the water trickle down the rocks in the valleys and canyons. Listen to the thick silence that follows the snowflakes as they cover the landscape and transform it into a winter paradise. Heed the voice of a friend that you would have normally ignored because of preoccupations with your own thoughts, needs, or concerns. Listen to that still small voice in your own heart that guides you to leave behind the worries of this world, and focus on what matters.
We all admire the mountains whether we are aware of it or not. Why? Perhaps we feel that same extreme pressure on our own lives that it took to reach such great heights; that we understand their struggle, and embrace it to survive and stay standing despite the winds that slam against us. Perhaps it is the silence and peace that comes during and after storms that remind us of our own search for meaning in and after suffering. Perhaps it is the immense beauty that is shown to us in spite of such a raw, wild, and unforgiving terrain. No matter how we admire them, they always amaze and fill our hearts with a spirit of adventure, hope, and peace. I can’t wait to see them again.
That is really interesting
Thank You.