When everything feels like an uphill struggle, think of the view from the top of a mountain
Life can sometimes feel like an uphill struggle that’s for sure! There can be times when we can feel challenged or low, or are just generally struggling. So when life feels like an uphill struggle that’s when I try to think of the view from the top of a mountain.
Snowdon
Let me tell you about Snowdon and what it means to me. I’ve climbed it three times in my life. The first time was as a kid on a family holiday. I remember getting to the top and seeing there was a train and complaining to my parents loudly that “we could have just got on a train?!”
The second time was again with my family when my parents and I went to visit my brother who was at Bangor university. I was probably about 17 years old and my brother was about 19 or 20. We all climbed Snowdon together again. I don’t remember much about this time but I do remember it was hard work but good fun. We laughed a lot and I think I joked about getting the train again!
The last time I climbed Snowdon was with a large group. I was with my parents again, some of my cousins, aunties and uncles, and my brother’s girlfriend. This time we were climbing the mountain in remembrance. It was in remembrance of my lovely beautiful brother who drowned in a kayaking accident off the coast of Anglesey.
This climb was different. My grief was a challenge and I needed to get to the top of that mountain to see the view, for myself, for my brother and for my family.
That last climb up Snowdon was emotional to say the least but we did it for my brother and although it was painfully heartbreaking, there was lots of reminiscing and laughter along the way.
My brother, my inspiration
My brother Simon has always inspired me with a love of the outdoors. We visited so many mountains on our family holidays including Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn. My brother had a zest for life. He wanted to see the world. He climbed Macchu Picchu for the charity Mind and cycled across Chile for the charity Computer Aid International, delivering computers and technology to underprivileged children.
Mighty Hike for Macmillan
Over 10 years on from when my brother passed I still try to challenge myself as Simon would have. The little girl who wanted to get the train is now the woman who doesn’t always take the easy path.
So when a friend asked me a couple of years ago if I wanted to walk a marathon along the South Downs for Macmillan I jumped at the chance. It was a tough walk, there was a gale blowing the whole way and the miles included hiking part of the South Downs and taking on the Seven Sisters and Beachy Head. I broke my toe during the walk but still made it to the finish line!
View from the top of a mountain
So that’s why I will always challenge myself, why I love mountains and why when life gets overwhelming I think of the view from the top of a mountain. Because in that view all the memories and the spirit of my brother shines through.
Now I have a son I want to be able to take him to beautiful places and show him the world and maybe climb a mountain or two…
This blog post is also an entry into AliKats’ Dream of Mountains Challenge.
The view looks amazing. Would like to try this 🙂