The Mountain as a Teacher

Rental car loaded,  all of us ready to hit the road by 6:00 am, and we were off to Telluride.  A destination I had dreamed of visiting for quite some time. Once we arrived, the beauty around me far exceeded my expectations and I had only seen the surface of what was to come the following day.  I knew that this would be a very special trip to share quality time with the family but I also knew there was going to be even more about this trip that would make it memorable.

We boarded the chair lift the following morning that would carry us to the lofty peek high in the sky.  A brief overview of the map told us that there was one run that looked like it would be manageable, without landing any of us in one of those dreadful ski patrol baskets.  With a name as inviting as See Forever, I didn't see how we could pass it up.  As soon as we were released from the lift, I was overcome with an immediate visceral reaction to my surroundings.  In each direction that I looked, the endless beauty was more spectacular than the previous glance.  There were no words to describe what I was absorbing.  Off to the right, the tiny dots of men and women, far braver or perhaps somewhat crazier than I, were trekking by foot up to an even higher summit, where they were then clipping on their skies to perform terrain that I could not even imagine attempting.  They were floating through an untouched snow bowl that looked as if it might swallow a human attempting to cross through it. How were they managing that? Then I spotted a person in a cocoon type bag attached to wings literally soaring through the sky.  I was without words and quite honestly blown away.  I had never seen such pure beauty.  I felt so free, so calm, so at peace, and so grateful to be witnessing this creation of nature.   I could not really put to words why I needed to be up at this peak so often during our trip but I knew that I was being deeply touched and changed during my time alone in nature high in the sky. I knew that I would return home to write about my time with this mountain though not entirely sure what the words would be sharing.
It hit me while on one of my runs down See Forever.  My legs ached to the point that I questioned if they would carry me down this mountain safely. I knew that I was overdoing it and that the sensible thing to do was to call it a day and retreat to my cozy bed of the hotel room.  Sensible perhaps but I also knew that I felt called to stay out and just experience this  mountain to the fullest.  I knew there was a lesson that I was meant to learn and that the answers were somewhere up on this majestic peek. I have come to know my body very intimately over the years, living with a physical condition that can at times be very challenging.  I knew there would be a price to pay for indulging in this rigorous activity but I also was mindful that I had a choice in the matter. This is a sport that I have loved since childhood and as long as my legs would allow me to continue it, I was going to go for it each and every chance that I had.  I also knew that it would just entail listening to my body and allowing it the proper chance to recover once we returned home.  I felt grateful to have realized that I have arrived at the point in my life when I can listen to my body and make sensible choices but also let myself indulge from time to time returning back to the sensible business of taking care of myself. I felt happy in the realization that I have come to understand my relationship with MS and we have our own certain song and dance together that allows me to enjoy my life, while also taking care of myself.
The more my legs began to burn and shake, the more closely I felt connected to the mountain and what it was trying to tell me. Suddenly it began to become clear to me why I was so drawn to this spot on the mountain and this particular run where I could truly see forever.
From the views that this spot allowed me, I was struck at how this mountain just sits, constantly changing,  yet always being itself.  On this particular day the mountain was wrapped in a blanket of sunshine with nearly no winds assaulting it.  The forecast told us that before long this solid mass would be enshrouded in clouds buffeted by wind and snow.  In a few short months, spring will come and the snow will melt away allowing the streams below to fill with water, while flowers bloom in the meadows. In summer there will be no snow on the mountain except perhaps for the peaks.  Birds will sing again. In the fall the mountain will take on a new face of beauty as the leaves turn a myriad of brilliant colors and an autumn crispness will fill the air.  Through all of the changes this mountain sits through it remains centered, rooted, and unwavering.  Whether in the light of day or the darkness of the moon, the mountain just sits experiencing each moment exactly as it is.  It is always itself no matter what the changes around it are.  As the weather changes moment by moment, day by day, it remains there in its stillness unchanged.  No matter the season, the presence of visitors or not, it just sits unmoved.  It dawned on me, as I pushed myself down for yet one more run, that if we can learn to experience the mountain, we too can become rooted, still and grounded in our lives.  No matter what the challenges of our lives, whether we are in our own personal lightness or darkness, experiencing moments of pain or joy, we can become like the mountain and use these experiences to strengthen us. Like the mountain, we might come to know a deeper silence, stillness and wisdom in our lives.  This is what this mountain had to teach me.