Well to take one of the most cliche analogies to do with life and use it...so you know in life there are struggles and hills to climb, but if you persevere through you will one day make it to the top of the mountain. Just Kidding.
Maybe it is pessimism or cynicism, but I think it is more truthfully life experience and realism that brings me to question this analogy. On saturday I went on a hike up Sumas mountain, and I realized a few things.
First, life is like climbing a mountain, it should be enjoyable, it should be something we continue to choose to do, but when you are in the midst of it, it does not always feel enjoyable. There is often a lack of enjoyment, it took only minutes for the novelty of the climb to wear off. This time the novelty wearing off was not my poor physical condition. It was the annoyance of the mosquitoes. Those little pests that so quickly suck any excitement from mountain climbing. It was precisely 12:27 on Saturday when I knew I would be writing this blog as the annoyance was nearing unbearable proportions. Here you can insert your annoyance _______ that sucks the enjoyment out of life like a mosquito (feel free to post it in the comments section below, I would love to hear them, for me it is the constant failure and rejection of job searching).
Second, why life is more like climbing a mountain than one might realize. Death is a viable option. Now I don't mean that in order to stop climbing one should choose death, I would probably just say stop, turn around maybe there is a different route up the mountain, or a nice lake to sit at instead of climbing (but I am getting ahead of myself that is more point three). The reason death is a viable option is that it will come. For me this became particularly clear last year as I climbed Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. I was sick and blacked out on the way up and was probably the closest to death I have been in the last number of years. So the analogy of life being like climbing a mountain has been tainted by the realism that life includes death. Maybe when people use this analogy in the future they should be more careful as it is not a care free, fun loving, enjoyment filled analogy. This became clear to me as when I was taking Hebrew this spring, the analogy often used was we were "climbing" mount Baker together, after which I would utter under my breath, "ya and you can die doing so".
Third, once you get to the top, you just turn around and come back down. I find this analogy to be completely lacking because the end goal of the analogy is always getting to the top, which is just a great big fib. That is the part way goal, then you still need to get your sore tired ass all the way back down. Reflecting on this I realize that we never talk about the way down. Was graduating from college the top and now I am left completely unprepared to get myself down from the mountain, and as a result I find myself in a state of free-fall? I think we in the west have shaped out lives this way, you climb the career mountain as long as possible, then once you are forced to go back down we simply let go, causing people drift off into retirement often lacking meaning or purpose. Thinking about it, it seems to be an incredibly boring imagination of what life could be, you just climb until you fall off the other side, there is a serious lack of playing in the lakes, enjoying the forrest, or taking the trail around the base of the mountain.
So I would agree that life is like climbing a mountain, but we have made it that way, maybe there are other paths to choose. Beyond the alternative life is also more like climbing a mountain that we want to imagine it being, there are annoyances, death is tangible, and there is the often neglected return trip down.
Silas,
ReplyDeletePerhaps you could equate life to climbing a mountain with a pack of dogs nipping at your heels, Deadlines, Responsibilities, Duty. Maybe that's what takes the fun out of the journey.
"...duty is heavier than a mountain, while death is lighter than a feather." -- first precept of the Imperial Rescript to Japanese Soldiers and Sailors. (also paraphrased by Robert Jordan in the Wheel of Time series :-))
Perhaps it’s not the climb that’s important, but the company that’s along for the hike, the mosquitoes are that much more bearable, the vista that much more amazing. I know for myself it’s those I love that make the duty worth carrying, for by myself I couldn’t be bothered. “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.” Philippians 1:21-24 (I know Duncan will be shocked…)
Death is always an option, even inevitable, and perhaps that IS the actual top of the mountain. Perhaps your accomplishments are only plateaus and the vista that you look out at is all of your life laid before you – childhood, school, friends, marriage, children, grandchildren, a literal forest of accomplishment and memories which from the mountain side you can’t see for the trees (speaking of way over used analogies).
And since we’re stretching this analogy to its breaking, perhaps if you packed right you could base jump off the summit – saving you the tedious journey back down the mountain.
Daniel.