IN THE MOUNTAINS

Had fallen in love. Had been hurt. Then went conquering the mountains. 

It's a tagline I often hear being said by those who go climbing the mountains. But I think there are other reasons as well…really. It might be to find healing. To find oneself. To find answers to some of life's questions. Or simply to find adventure. To find meaning. To see something they have never seen before. To feel something real. To   find a connection within. To find a connection without. There will be thousands of reasons but whatever the reasons are for anyone, these reasons will stand incoherent and insignificant once faced with the grandeur of the nature unfolding right before your very eyes. Every worry will be an utter of thankfulness once you get lost and immersed in a world of trees, falls, woods and glade.

I remember the very first time I climbed a mountain. It was November of 2015 in Rizal. The mountain was named Mount Maranat if my memory serves me well. I remember the very feeling when we were just at the foot of the mountain which was the starting point of our climb. The fog of the morning enveloped us and the sun is still in its hiding somewhere in the eastern sky. Feelings of nervousness and excitement tried consuming me all at once. Little did I know it will be the hardest thing I will ever do and I swore will never do again. 

We started with ascending the mountains with slow and steady steps. But then, as we go higher every steep rock and every slippery trail was a struggle. What made the climb even harder was that I have worn the wrong shoes and I had no socks on. I only wore a black sneakers so I could feel sharp rocks underneath. There was a part when I was almost unable to continue because the rocks we had to step on were so slippery and farther from each other.

My intention for climbing was not a noble one I must admit at that time, I don’t know. I only wanted to fulfill my friend’s wish on her birthday. And partly, I only wanted to prove myself to her. That I am not some weakling. I was so absorbed with the challenge of not being left behind that I failed to slow down and appreciate the mystery and majesty of the nature that was before me. 

We almost reached the summit. It was noon when we arrived at the top near the summit. It was scorching hot, it's a good thing there were huts where stayed. We rested for a bit and talked with some of those who seem to be mountaineers as well. Where there was silence in the middle of the woods, there was noise in the huts. People talked incessantly and some laughed with each other. They must have gone camping the night before for they seem to be relaxed while all my muscles are heavy and I was soaked with sweat. 

After what seemed to be an hour, we got ready to come down the mountain and go home. But before that, we had a birthday celebration for my friend at a falls we were able to pass by descending. I looked around and that was when I heard the wind and felt the mystery of the place we were in. I saw large butterflies flying and heard the silence of the mountains. It was almost a cliche but I felt like I was in another world. All around us are gigantic rocks and foliage almost as green as a water paint. Their roots dangling from in between the rocks. The falls was a white geyser forcefully rushing down. Its  water was chilling but was so refreshing. Somehow, all the tension in my body left me. I wished suddenly that I was alone to meditate and wonder all by myself.

We finally went down and I realized the skin on my tendons was bleeding. It was scraped because I had no socks on. And my shorts was ripped I just wished no one saw! My whole body was worked up I could feel the heaviness of my steps. Though it was a magical experience, it was more exhausting all the same.

But I did not know the phrase; “the mountains are calling you” was real when my body longed for the mountains. And so I said yes to my best friend’s invitation to climb the Mount Maynoba again in Rizal. It was a day climb and we started early. By 7 am we were already hiking. It was sunny and the trail was dry and the grass green. I was skipping because it seems to me that it is going to be an easy climb. Boy was I wrong. We weren’t able to go that far that I started to feel nauseous and I felt it was hard to breathe. I felt I am going to faint at any moment and so I sat in the grass. I told my friends what I am feeling. We stopped and I told them to continue on even without me. But one of our mountaineer companions helped me and made me drink a solution for my dehydration and did some massage on me. They even carried my bag for me for a distance until my strength came back. “It is not a race”, I have been told. Indeed it was not. It’s not also an endurance challenge where only the fittest survives. My climb the second time had a spiritual effect on me. I did not exactly know why but maybe it was because I was able to see the skies. The vast sky was blue and the breeze was soft and everything, it seems was revealed to us. The breeze carried along with it the voice of God. It was a soothing and calming voice that spoke to me, “be still and know that I am God.” I even had these realizations:

“Spend your time, energy and money on those that really matters.”

“In a place where the only sound you will hear is the sound of the wind, you will be able to hear your heart clearly. Perhaps, you need to be in the mountains when you need to hear your heart and make a decision.”

“In a place where you are lost among the rocks, woods, trees and falls, the sky is a wide and large mirror of all the good things on earth.”

Further, I realized that climbing a mountain becomes easier when you are with friends and companions whom you trust will help you and will not leave you when the going gets tough. Climbing a mountain, as cliché as it may seem, is basically like going through life. As they say, braving through a rain becomes a dance in the rain when you are with friends. You have to go through life with the right goal and mindset. You have to focus on the goal; that is to reach the summit without failing to appreciate the journey upwards. You will bleed the first time you do anything that is worth trying because it is not easy but you will become wiser and you will know what to do the second time. (And what to wear  ). You will be better equipped. In going through life, make your faith in God the very essence of your existence. Look for Him in every single thing you do. If you cannot find Him in what you’re doing, you are probably doing the wrong thing.