So I am walking around in the Alaskan Mountains a lot lately and it occurred to me. My life is very much like this walking. Good times and bad, tough times and easy. Sometimes the walk has been almost too much to bear. At times I've needed the encouragement of someone else who is walking with me. Other times I prefer to go it alone. Now and then I get in a deep valley that seems impossible to climb out of, but I don't stay there too long. I suppose I would if I gave up, but who really gives up.
Eventually I find myself walking up the side of a mountain and the view gets a bit clearer. As I get closer to the summits the excitement always grows. Reaching any summit is always rewarding. But the summits are a lot like the valleys, you don't stay there long. You just can't, life happens and you have to move on. Sometimes you can reach the next summit without going through another valley, just a small dip and you hit your next high point. However, sometimes the next peak is miles away, and you have to travel through many tough valleys. Sometimes those valleys are filled with fog and you can't even see if you are making any progress at all. Another thing I've noticed, sometimes those valleys that you dread you look back on and say, "that was beautiful." I once had a friend comment about the sorrow he experienced after his fathers death, "There was a sweet emotion... I felt alive."
That's the way it is as we travel life. You never know what's next but if you keep striving eventually you get to the top of another mountain, and it's always worth the effort.
