Peaks - ricknotesricknotes

We walk the easy, lowland, cultural paths and something catches our attention
A quotation, a person, an illness, a dream, a flash
We hear spirit’s call – respond, embark on a journey
Often with like minded folks – new community

We begin our climb – to awareness, to spirit, to realization, to healing
Out of the valley, the light on the path ahead beckons
We engage – choosing pathways and traditions
We heal, begin to awaken, feel the sunshine, the fresh air of the mountain
See the peak above us, focus on our inner work, and climb

We reach the peak, feeling alive, with new knowing and methods
Our fellow climbers make camp, community grows
We teach and encourage others to climb, to join us on the mountain

And then, out of our peripheral vision, we see it, in the mist
In the distance, another peak – towering
We stare, is it real? A mirage?
We get back to our work
Half jokingly, we ask our community – have you seen that other peak over there?
No, what are you talking about – this is where it’s at

But the other peak beckons – a dream, a message – meaning beyond our knowing
We begin to acknowledge it, recognizing the self-delusion of where we have made camp.
But, contemplating the journey to this other peak is daunting
We know we will have to leave our community, all we have built and invested
To climb all the way down from the peak we are on
And across the valley below, with its temptations and dark disorienting places
To reach even the base of this new peak – if we can find it
And then – how arduous will be the climb to the top?
What will it demand of us, how will we have to change, what will we have to shed?
Will it really be worth it?

We are torn – in our hearts we feel the divine pull of the new mountain
Will we go? Is where we are enough? Do we have the courage?

And what if, after intense engagement, we reach this new peak, and realize there is yet another one – higher, steeper, farther in the distance? With a deeper, darker valley between us and it.
What then?