Why we must climb the mountain in us

Why do people climb mountains? Because they are there. Others climb mountains to accept the challenge. Many of us do not care why and do not think about it. But how about the mountain inside of us that calls for a challenge from us daily?

When we stand at the base of a mountain, we see its beauty and grandeur. We are forced to raise our heads upward seeking the peak. And when we do, we also see the sky with its majesty. Something inside of us stirs and prods us to climb it. However many of us just turn and walk away missing the mystery and surprises it holds for us. How sad for those of us who walk away!

Mountain peaks are never crowded. Why? Because it’s hard work. Not many people desire to climb mountains. It’s lonesome and we have to leave everything behind to do it. We will likely get lots of scratches and bumps, and it might even cost us our life.

Let’s look at the mountain of life that each of us face daily. I like to call it the Mountain of Accomplishment. Let’s ask ourselves: “How high have we climbed it at the age we are today?” Are we taking any risks as we climb it? Or are we just standing and looking up at it?

To successfully climb our mountain of accomplishment, we have to pack several things. One of the most important is the item called “desire.” As we pack it carefully in our backpack, we place “determination” and “discipline” next to it. With those three items neatly packed, we begin our journey to our goal—the peak.

As we begin our climb, our guide named Education turns to us and asks us if we have any skills or special training that will aid us as we climb. Have we completed high school? Are we doing any studying to improve our climbing skills? Education hands us several catalogues from which we can choose various training skills.

The one I selected is the Harcourt Learning Center which is a home study student service center. The catalog lists at least 60 ways Harcourt can help us get a better job through its home study courses. Our guide Education tells us this is only one of many home study centers that are available when we get the desire, determination and discipline to begin climbing our mountain.

To mention only a few, I noticed courses in accounting, business management, computer repairs, interior decorator, child care management, bookkeeping, and many others. He also mentioned that I could attend the Northern Marianas Trades Institute and master a trade such as carpentry, painting, masonry, electrical, culinary arts and others. If we are going to climb our mountain successfully, we surely need one or more of the above skills.

The CNMI needs many trained technicians, semi-professionals and skilled employees. Yet when business asks for them, few people show up. We remain as children looking through the window seeing all the opportunities and wonder why we cannot have them. As a result, businesses resort to hiring non-resident workers. We complain that we will not work for a lousy minimum wage, but the truth is that when a resident worker possesses a good skill, the employer will pay a fair market wage.

Think of all the air conditioners, all the TVs, small appliances, auto repairs, home appliances, and the multitude of other needs that need repairing. But sadly how many of us can do this kind of work? The hospital needs nurses, practical nurses, aides and other technical assistance, but how many of us qualify? How many local nutritionists do we have on island? On and on!

Let’s meet some famous mountain climbers who climbed actual mountains. One of the most famous is Sir Edmund Hillary, the first person to reach the top of Mount Everest, the mightiest mountain on earth on May 29, 1953. Along with him was Tenzing Norgay, a Nepalese mountaineer.

Junko Tabei, a Japanese woman mountaineer, was the first woman to reach Mount Everest on May 16, 1975. She also was the first woman to complete the Seven Summits, the highest peaks on the seven continents.

Here are some famous people who charged up their inner mountain and reached the peak successfully. Consider Sam Walton and Ray Kroc, two famous business people. Have you heard of Carl Sagan and Louis Pasteur, two famous scientists? Thomas Merton and Aldous Huxley are two famous writers. Next to them were Albert Schweitzer and Socrates famous as philosophers. Close behind them were musicians Sergei Prokofiev and Aldan Berg. Two famous spiritual leaders joined them at the peak, St. Paul and St. Francis Assisi. There have been thousands of others.

Even severely handicapped people climbed their mountain. Did you know that Thomas Edison had a learning disability and didn’t begin reading until he was 12 years old? Franklin D. Roosevelt suffered from polio and could barely walk, but he was elected four times to be president of the United states. Helen Keller was born deaf, blind and mute, but she climbed her mountain successfully.

Then there is Stephen Hawkins, a brilliant physicist and mathematician, who suffers from Lou Gehrig’s disease and is in a wheel chair. He needs a computer to speak. Let’s not forget Erik Weikenmayer who is the only blind person to have climbed the “Seven Summits” or the seven tallest peaks on every continent.

How do we compare to these people? Are they so different from us in their desire to climb their inner mountains? What did they get from their adventures of inner mountain climbing?

They received sheer joy! And joy, is after all, the end of life. They also each received a pride and feeling of accomplishment that we long for. We do not live to eat and make money. We eat and make money to be able to enjoy life. Height has nothing to do with our mountain. It is our strength and courage that counts. Climbing is, after all, a matter of integrity.

By now we either have stopped reading and wondering what am I driving at or we understand the message. The economic success for our country and for ourselves depends on how determined we are to climb our inner mountain. We all have great capabilities within ourselves, but for some strange reason we keep cheating ourselves.

Recall when we were young. What has happened to the dreams of our youth? Why do we stress to our children to climb mountains when we have stopped climbing? Ask ourselves what has happened to our desire, determination and discipline?

No foreign investors can help us. No government can help us. We must help ourselves. Look within ourselves and let’s do it! Let’s get off our buts (excuses). It’s never too late. I know this for a fact.

I don’t accept excuses in my life. And neither should you. Come on, let’s get off our buts and start climbing. The view is breathtaking. See you at the top!

And don’t forget to SMILE along the way! It is the greatest gift to share with someone. Have a great weekend!