Lessons from Climbing to the Summit

 Spend more time focusing on getting comfortable being wherever you are and less time comparing yourself to others who are further along the path- Maryam Hasnaa

Hello Lovies

I am enjoying the experience of Guadeloupe. On Wednesday, there was a scheduled full moon. A friend offered to do a moon light hike. I immediately said yes without asking too many questions. I thought to myself, how rigorous can it be to climb up a hill and watch the moon light. The plan was on, we arranged a meeting with head torches at 7.30pm just at the base of La Soufriere. I felt excited as ever.

I arrived at the base of the hill and it was FREEZING, I also could not source a head lamp or torch so I thought I would just go with the flow.

Well...the flow was dark and freezing.

Luckily my friend had an extra jacked and kindly  loaned it to me.

About 20 of us started the climb. I was pleasantly surprised that the terrain was bushy however there were paved tarmac to walk on, we proceeded uphill and I said to myself, "Yes I!" easy peasy

And then the road stopped and the terrain changed to rocky, windy and rainy. I wore glasses and they were fogging up, blocking my vision. I started slipping and falling on the rocks,  started doubting myself, questioning why I said yes to this adventure. 

We continued to climb, now having to use all fours -(I guess this is why head lamps was a thing!) after 2hours and 20minutes I wanted to give up. I started talking to myself, I started paying attention to the magnificence of nature around me. It helped. the time I took to do that propelled me even further up the hill. The members of the group were also very kind an accommodating.

We reached a point where the wind was so strong we literally had to crawl on the rocks to avoid being swept away, that was one of the most scariest experiences of my life. The torch I was given blew away and I was swept to the ground by a strong gust of wind. The other team members rushed to help me up and coax me on to reach the summit. I sat on a rock in defiance, wanting to cry, I was tired, cold and frustrated.

Then I realized I was two minutes away from the summit. I just had to do it! I could not come all this way and not make it to the top. I had to dig deep for that extra two minutes and no one else could do it for me. This was all me and God.

One step, one crawl at a time and there it was.....

Top of the hill babee

As I reflect on the lessons I am reminded  that there will be tough times, however there will be support, there will be your own self talk, there will be summits to climb which require some tears and its all good!

and by the way, the moon was an absolute beauty.

Peace