A Toast to Climbing Your Mountains — Day 9— As Life Happens | By Vindya Vithana

My legs are still sore and my mind is still alive with the warmth of the adrenaline rush from my last hike.

In 2017, I summited my first mountain in Nepal. For over seven days I trekked among Himalayas; through wilderness and small villages, across streams, hanging bridges and steep gravel roads to get my first experience of truly conquering a mountain.

And then a little while later, I climbed up a volcano in Indonesia.

I woke up at 2am and drove for an hour or so to reach it, and then was sweating profusely in the icy cold morning trying to rush and get to the summit before the sunrise.

I’m in no way your typical trekker. I usually avoid any physical exercise except perhaps long walks (strictly on flat lands!) and a little bit of Yoga.

Climbing mountains was probably the most important spiritual and educational experience I got in 2017.

As I was dragging my aching feet along gravel roads in Nepal, trying to make it to the next stop before the nightfall, I learned things about myself that left me amazed. The most surprising thing of all was that my body was more capable than I usually give it credit for!

In a long trek you learn the rhythm in which your body operates. You listen to your muscles, your heartbeat, your breath and your mind. It’s like those little team challenges you do in workshops to get to know about your team — only that here, you get to know more about yourself!

My legs were in agony since 2 hours into the trek, but surprisingly it felt like my own body was cheering me on to push a little further; to take another 10 steps, then 20, and then a 100 more. Left leg. Right leg. Left leg. Right leg. You can do this, honey. A little more. There you go. Good girl!

I learned to focus my mind on the moment without dwelling on the past or the future; one step after the other, and that’s what only matters.

Mountains have this amazing power of motivating you. You are panting and aching and so you sit down to rest your legs and lungs thinking there’s no way you’d get up, but when you see the summit above you, in a few minutes you are ready to get back up and push on.

For me, the few treks and hikes I’ve done were mostly a reminder that I am capable of tackling a challenge, of saying I want to accomplish this, and setting the proper plans in motion to let me do so.

The only thing that stands between you and success in summiting a mountain is your own willpower. It’s a teamwork between you, your body and your mind.

Climbing mountains teaches you in the most beautiful way about fragmenting your tasks.

Of course you can’t climb a mountain at a stretch!

It’s all about taking only what you can handle at a time.

And then you rest.

And then you get back up and continue.

When you feel like you are capable of pushing yourself a little further, you do it.

You learn about yourself. And you continue.

It’s about persistence. About not giving up.

And most of all, the amazingly exhilarating feeling when you are finally on the top!

You look down at the amazing view, and all your effort feels hundred times worth it.

You just cannot wait to do it again!

As a wise person once said, sometimes you just have to climb a damn mountain!

So do it.

Here’s to successfully climbing your mountains this year.

Cheers!

See more of my travels on my Instagram 👉 https://www.instagram.com/flower_crown_diaries/