About seven years ago, I had the best time of my life. I went on a trip with my family to Estes Park, Colorado, for about a week and a half. It was the first time I had ever been out of the south and furthest to the west of the US I had traveled to before.
I remember every single little detail. From the drive to the park and back to the Trail Ridge, to almost dying while crawling down a steep hill on the way to The Loch; to almost falling off a horse and landing in a prickly bush; I loved every single thing about it.
Everyone that has climbed a mountain can probably relate to this: when climbing, you encounter so many different things. You might meet some strangers along the way; you might find some flowers, get poison ivy, feed some chipmunks–even though you shouldn’t, you trip over a few tree stumps sticking up out of the ground and fall on your face a little more than you thought you would.
If you really think about it, the process of climbing a mountain is just like life.
You encounter so many different things, feel so many different emotions, think so many thoughts, fall a few times, make a few mistakes. While at the same time, in the back of your head is just the feeling of finally getting to the top–finally reaching your destination.
Yet sometimes, the little things and the process of getting to your final destination is the thing that sticks out the most and stays with you.
I remember during my hike, I was so lightheaded from the altitude and also possibly because I was a tad overweight at the time. By the time I got to the top, I barely remember how long I had spent there at the top and what I even did. I know I took a few photos of the lake, but that’s about it.
Funny enough, I have more pictures of the trees and chipmunks than of the top of the hike, where we turned around and finally saw The Loch.
Just from that trip alone, looking back, it really shows me that in life, the littlest things are the things that we remember the most. They’re the things that mean the most to us and shape us into who we truly are. Although in the back of our minds, we’re too caught up thinking of that final destination, that perfect job, perfect house, perfect relationship. We need to stop every once in a while and look at the little things that occur around us–what happens along the way, what happens as we climb the mountain called life.
- United States