The Climb

I feel the ground shift beneath my feet. The pebbles fall. The branches break.

Should I stop? Go back?

I know that path. I know that ground. I've been there before. The path ahead is steep, it's frightening, it is unknown.

Am I a fool to try this? To persist as others would not.

How can I choose to continue? What if I hurt myself? What if I hurt others around me?

I slow down Take a breath

I will take another step, slowly, carefully. I feel the push forward. It is unseen but I know it is there. Perhaps a bit more.

I reach forward pulling myself up and I see it.

I have reached the mountain top. I see everything. I finally understand why so many are afraid. Why I was afraid.

Yet, in this moment I've never felt stronger, even as I shake. Even as I see and understand the path I've taken.

This is my clarity, my compassion, my forgiveness for every so-called misstep. For every fall, scrap of the knee or broken bone.

It has lead me here. To what feels like my first full breath. My moment to choose my next path or adventure.

I am ready.