My Spiritual Journey - Part Two
(I’m posting these in reverse order so you can read them from top to bottom.)
The journey up the mountain wasn’t as steep as other mountain trails I had climbed, but it was much longer. Climbing/walking up began to become a challenge for me on all fronts – mentally, physically, and emotionally – and I began to wonder why I was putting myself through all this.
The first trial came physically as I began sweating profusely and needing breaks to catch my breath. It was hard not to entertain the idea of turning back, but I squashed the thoughts and kept moving on. I knew that it was a matter of mind over body and that I could keep going.
The next trial brought the mental. My mind began focusing on ‘that next hill’ and how steep the next part would be. I began to doubt myself, wondering how far I could possibly go when I wasn’t exactly in the fittest shape of my life.
My partner and I took a break and I told him that I was starting to defeat myself mentally when it came to this journey. He remained quiet most of the time, making sure I drank water and rested, knowing that this journey was about me and something I needed to do. The mental barriers lessened as I recognized them for what they were – mental and nothing more.
We travelled on and that’s when I began to get emotional. Many times I almost started crying, both at the thought of continuing on without knowing how long the trail was and at the thought of turning back before reaching the end. I began taking longer rests not only to revive myself physically but to revive myself emotionally.
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