“Two good eyes may be part of the equation, but there are so many
other qualities that make a person successful, like the skill and talent you
develop, the time you devote to it and your persistence.”
—ERIK Weihenmayer
(The only blind man in history to reach
the summit
of the world's highest peak - Mount
Everest)
On Trekking
our own Pico de Loro
If there is a logbook at the top of every mountain, my name had
actually been added from a long list of many hundreds of people who have done
the same and some other records of hundreds and thousands who have trekked
through its foothills.
The whole Cavite
will not care though even those tricycle drivers who waited for us for the
business of transportation and warned us for such risky attempt. However, I can
say that my whole being rejoices like how I was greeted by facebook friends thinking
I have been one of the national icons displayed in billboards, published in
magazines, and commercials. My climb was considered historical or akin as to
winning an Olympic gold Medal. It also shows the brave spirit of myself as a
Filipino, a mark that had left in our souls even now. But however it was set
that way, I indeed have proved to the world that we Filipinos can possibly take
the challenge; I mean, we indeed won the challenge on standing at the forehead
of the sky. (As if they will care) But the feeling is different especially when
the experts at the time announced the success of us trekkers; especially on the
thought that most of us are beginners at that time who previously dreamt of
reaching one.
It is
there. According to
the National Geographic Society, it would cost about $50,000 to $60,000 per
person just to climb
Mt. Everest. But imagine,
me just spending 20 pesos for a registration at the DENR entry post. My second
thoughts: Who would dare to spend 20 pesos just to risk one’s life; what more
are the skills and the guts needed. The list would seem to be endless. However,
for some people who have already reached the summit, they climbed the mountain
not just that they want to be famous or beat any particular record. It is
because of the reality that human beings love to achieve and what is there in
front of them saying the usual statement, “It is there. The dream is waving and
all you need is your motivation and passion on how to reach it.”
We may not be mountain climbers but definitely all of us have
dreams. Our dreams can be anything. Our dreams can be desires that lie deeply
within our hearts. These can be possibilities that we see happening in our
lives or something that we would like to accomplish. These can be ones we have
planted or planning to be planted in front of our priorities in life. There can
be a lot of them in our minds; such dreams that are endless to mention. Call
them as “all the mountains” that we want to conquer and for the most part, a
lot of these mountains that are difficult to climb.
Our dreams or our mountains may not just be individual
aspirations. A number of us might be looking or aiming at the same mountain just
like Janet Belarmino, Carina Dayondon, Noelle Wenceslao and Leo Oracion. At
some point, we trek a particular mountain together with someone else or a group
of people. These are goals that we aspire to meet together with our friends,
officemates, family members and our community.
Building
Contact. We are not only viewing our mountains in an encyclopedia. If we
have chosen one, we need to try to build contact to that particular mountain.
Read the map or even study the terrain by being in there “for real”. We might
see the effect of that particular mountain to be relieving, wonderful, and
stimulating but then we cannot imagine that at the back of this interesting
panoramic beauty are debris, broken paths, rough terrain, and dangers along the
way. There can be cliffs. There can even traps. Those are the ones you cannot
notice or rather you cannot possibly avoid. But you will easily get along with
these cliffs and traps once you to learn where to step and how to be safe next
time you pass on it again. What is the moral lesson here then? When we aim for
something in life it is important that we study and weigh the risks involved and
advantages attached in achieving it. It is sacrosanct as well to learn the
tools and qualifications that will be required of us to become successful. If
we do not have the needed prerequisites and experiences yet, this is our signal
to hone and sharpen our skills. By being aware of the stakes, we get grounded
on reality and this places us in a better position to take charge of our own
path and develop areas in our persona that need work on. By acknowledging and
working on our weak spots, we become better, stronger and high performers.
Choosing our
Mountain and Standing by it. As we
journey towards the summit, it is expected that we will meet a lot distractions
and hurdles. Like the very slippery
pathways, rocky slopes and muddy trail that our team has to overcome, we have
our own challenges to triumph over and it will come in a lot of forms. It may
come in the form of lack of knowledge and direction, being burnt out, lack of
self-confidence, frustration when we don’t get things right and de-motivation
from the people around us. There are a whole lot of people who will be
affecting us in our journey. Some might say negative things about us; negating
us with all our actions. If we allow the negative energies to seep in, we end
up lost in track of our main goal or perhaps we end up as an individual who has
exerted lots of energy for a goal he doesn’t want to pursue anymore.
Our ability to achieve goals is always a function of how positive
we see adversity and how much will power we have. It is our choice if we let
the obstacles to defeat us or fight back and be a success. It’s the winning
attitude that will elevate us to heights that we ourselves will be amazed.
Protecting
Yourself. Your tools for the trek are useless if you forget your own self.
That’s why you need to listen to what your body says. Learn how to give what it
deserves. Drink and eat enough. It is not proper to abuse our bodies just to
force ourselves with a particular trek. Do not force yourself. There is time
for everything. You can possibly stop climbing once in a while but do not give
up. Just feel the scenery for a while. Feel the surroundings. Jump. Kick some
rocks. Inhale. Exhale. And then climb again. The climb can be difficult but
that long journey will be the way for you to learn and be better.
Learn from
the Master. It is possible that someone has already reached the mountain you
are aiming to climb. Learn the different styles and strokes on how they had
reached that particular mountain. Seek advice and guidance from them on where
to use the rope, what pathways are relatively safer and ideal to pass by, and
some of their experiences that will possibly be of good use with your long
journey. Experience is a good teacher and the “master’s” experience will serve
as your compass along the way.
Don’t Get
Bored and Don’t Rest on Your Laurels. Climbing a mountain takes time and
effort. The time spent in climbing a mountain ranges from a couple of hours to
a number of days. Patience is therefore important. Remember that we cannot
climb two mountains at the same time. Changing our minds would be worse like
climbing down again in your first mountain and climbing back in for the next
one. At that point, we will not reach any mountain tops at all.
When we have reached the summit, enjoy what it brings. Celebrate what we had reached. Let go of your
emotions. But remember, nobody had ever conquered any mountains. We may be
standing at the top but it will take just a moment that we will feel tired, hungry,
exhausted, and lonely. It is just the time that we need to go down. It is good
to jubilate on our triumphs but resting on our laurels in another story. Once
we start thinking that we are good enough, that where we start to become
stagnant and benign. To be able to enrich one self, it is important to
constantly revisit, redefine and enhance one’s capabilities in response to the
demands of times. Let us dare to make a difference and leave a positive mark on
everything we you do. Like us, reaching the summit of the mountain is not
enough for us. We may come back and climb the mountain again to traverse, and
find another way aside from the usual trail. By being able to achieve this, we
could earn the respect and the admiration of mountain climbing community.
But then, this is not the end of the story. Once you have climb
one of your chosen mountain, there are still a lot of mountains to climb or any
other mountains to discover. Perhaps to tell everyone about this particular
mountain that you had climbed and telling them that it is possible.
And I am doing the same thing in my own little ways; perhaps
making my next Mt Pico de Loro in my mind; a goal that I am the one who will
first climb#.
