My dear, I am a fan of silence. It is a blessing and a punishment. We are blessed by humbling our spirits and we realize that we realize that we are not omnipotent. Standing on a mountain peak, watching the world you know carry on its meagre and futile existence helps a person to realize there is something more. Pausing to catch your breath at the top of the world, you feel differently than you have before. As you look off the cliff face into the face of death, you realize that life is not infinite. We must all face the end alone. The dark mountain tells us this, we foresee what is to come and we are not afraid. When you realize there is not a sound to be heard, the world seems to fall away. You are miles from any other human being, any computer, any technology and mundane daily activity. All you have to trust is your rucksack on your back and your own two feet. You realize that you need not be afraid of what you cannot foresee and this is the best moment of your life.
At the base, you look up. You cannot see your destination, all you can see is a seemingly insurmountable rock face. The black stone reflects a fear you have felt ever since you laid eyes on the mountain. A pessimist would never do something like this. Why should he if he can simply stay home and watch a television programme about this. Beauty, you realize, is something real. It cannot be recreated or copied. You cannot experience beauty by staring at a screen. It is tactile, my dear, the wind in your hair as you begin the ascent is beauty. The weight of your bag on your back is beauty. The mountain is like an ancient ironwood’s improbable blossom. As you climb higher and higher, there is less and less noise from other people. The rock absorbs all otherworldly sounds and leaves only the silent truth of the mountain. This truth is something you do not yet understand, but with time you will grow to learn it. The summit is foreseen, yet unimaginable. There may have been pictures taken, stories told about it, but, my dear, nothing compares to the real experience.
A pessimist, burying his head in a pile of anti-depressant only has fear. He has fear that nothing will go correctly, he has fear that his house will fall down around him, and he has fear that he will never reach the summit. He cannot foresee the benefits of risk, of living without fear. If he does not risk anything going correctly, then nothing will. If he fears his house will fall down, he will simply wait to let it happen. A pessimist will never reach the summit and experience true beauty because he does not have the foresight to believe in it. All he knows is what he is used to and is afraid to challenge the status quo. He does not realize that “the gods… have been known to bless/as well as punish”. The mountain is no different. It blesses and punishes as much as any other god. It is a silent advocate, judging us, but helping us along the way. We must respect the mountain, my dear, because it has the power to change your life for the better, and to take life away. Like any life changing experience, our foresight of the outcome does not guarantee it. Climbing the mountain is a way of resisting the “abject despair” felt by the pessimist. We must rid ourselves of pessimism and fear and climb up the unforgiving cold mass of stone, for at the top we know is a silent beauty, waiting for us to join her.
During the last minutes of your ascent, you are most in your prime. You can see your destination and you know you have achieved what you set out to do. Stepping on the highest point of land in sight, you stop and breathe. Step up to the edge my dear, you need not be afraid. You cannot fall off a mountain. Your long triumphant yell of “HOO!” echoes out forever. Now you sit and listen. Without a single other human in sight, for once you can truly listen to the silence. Even though silence is the absence of sound, it is very loud. It reverberates in your ears, almost crushing you, but gently. The mountain speaks to you, saying it is a reminder that you are small. Do not try to be bigger than you are, my dear. “Your house will fall down, for sure/followed… by the sky itself”, but the mountain will constantly remain. After all the deeds have been done, wars have been won it will persevere. It will wait until we are ready. Now you have made a choice. This choice is probably the most important of your life, it is to not give into fear of what you cannot foresee, because life is too insignificant for that.
Beauty is real, my dear, and you have time to experience it. Why not make the most out of your time and experience all you can, instead of waiting for your house to fall down? My dear, you have been given a chance to face your fear of what you cannot foresee and experience beauty beyond anything visible on a screen. I suggest taking advantage of that chance. When you do not respect the mountain, it will punish you. When you do respect it, you can face the end and come out with your head held high. The mountain is like any god “when they act at all, {they} have been known to bless, as well as punish”.
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