After several attempts to conquer ‘the hill’, unsuccessfully I might add, I was more determined than ever to make it to the top. So this morning I started out early to make another attempt.
It seemed such a minor task. When looking up the hill from the bottom, it doesn’t look that big! Perhaps a half mile or so is all…and after all, Terri and I have been walking 2-3 miles a day for weeks. So off I went again.
As I passed the side-road halfway up (my usual stopping point), I still felt good, so I continued—my next minor goal being the sign at the top of the hill that says ‘siyluus maase’ (come again) to those leaving the island via the airport. With some extra effort, and a lot of slowing, I finally made it to the top…or so I thought.
Isn’t that so much like life? We set arbitrary goals for ourselves; goals we think will make us happy or make us rich, only to discover that it was an illusion after all?
As I neared what I thought was the top of the hill, and the sign I had set for my goal, I discovered that the road did not end, the hill simply flattened out a little bit. From the bottom of the hill, it looked as though there was a definite top or crest to this hill. But in fact, the hill is much higher, and the road much longer than it looked from the bottom. In fact, as the next section of road began to rise ahead of me, I still could not see the end—just another crest. My legs told me this was as far as I would go today.
However, even though I had failed to reach the top, there was a bright spot to my efforts: the view of the village and the southern end of the island was beautiful from up there!
Perhaps that is also like life…we can only appreciate the path we have traveled, the hardships we have overcome, and the tremendous growth we have achieved, by taking the time to look back on our lives—to see our life in a ‘panoramic view’, so to speak. It is only then that we can realize the beauty and blessings that surround us. It is only then that all our efforts come into some kind of perspective.
As I slowly walked down the hill, I was not disappointed, but exhilarated! Even though my perceptions had been completely wrong (there was no top to the hill, yet), and even though I recognized how much farther I had to go to reach that goal, the beauty of the world around me made the effort worthwhile.
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