A Life of Two Mountains.

I view life as a journey between two mountain peaks.

As children, we are quickly initiated into a self-conscious mindset before the formation of our earliest memories, as we learn from our peers, and the significant adults in our lives.

From a young age, we are exposed to the use of possessive pronouns, such as: my, your, his, her, theirs, and so on. We hear phrases like “your sister’s bag,” “your friend’s books,” “those are mom’s keys,” and our previously pure minds form a view of life that is individualistic, with an emphasis on personal possessions, ushering us into the awareness of our separate identities.

Although this is both necessary, and inevitable, I find that it is quite challenging, and even contradictory to encourage children to share their possessions with others while everything and everyone around them suggests the need to personalize their belongings.

The pursuit of excellence does not spare us from taking this selfish path, as it is based on peer comparison and competition. It is modelled in our school, political, and even religious systems. We just can’t help it; self-preservation comes naturally to us. We are made to see survival on this earth as that of the fittest, whether it be mentally, physically, emotionally, or socially.

From an early age, we all begin a hike along this first mountain, that of self-prioritization with an idea of success that is self-centered, fear-driven, and highly competitive.

I have observed that as we progress along this first mountain, we unexpectedly encounter a challenging situation that could either make or break us. This situation strips aside our ego, and forces us to descend the mountain into a valley of helplessness, brokenness, humility, and self-awareness. Suddenly, the consciousness of our flaws and weaknesses as humans dawns on us, and we begin to fault the mindset that we have always had. The value of our past pursuits becomes questionable as we navigate through our experience in the valley.

When we are faced with such challenging situations, the lack of fulfilment and the desire for a more peaceful outlook toward life may make some people become fearful, and even depressed. Such people may resort to harmful coping strategies, ones that offer short-lived, and even detrimental relief to their emotional pain. These people do not recover “positively” from their valley experience, in fact, they choose to hide their vulnerability, and eventually they find it difficult to adequately express compassion for others. They may remain in the valley, and never regain a healthy approach to life.

Some others undergo similar trials, and difficult situations, however, they come out of their valleys with a stronger, more healthy perspective about life. They are able to see the flawed nature of all humans, and accept the need for the constant intervention of a higher power, a perfect being. They are launched into a new chapter of their lives: the journey upwards on the second mountain.

I like to refer to the journey upon this new mountain as “The Selfless Life.”

The Selfless Life is a life of absolute dependence on the love of God, the supreme force.

It is divine, and it can only be achieved with the help of this force.

It is a life of maturity, continual growth, and ascension along a mountain whose peak is perfection.

It is a journey along the path of empathy, humility, and total surrender to the Creator of the universe.

It is only on my quest to reach greater heights on this mountain that I find inner peace, and lasting joy.

I invite you to “follow” this blog and join me on this journey along the second mountain.