Oprah’s column for September is worth a read, even if you can’t stand the woman. Personally, I think there is a lot of admire about her despite the fact that she has probably passed the point where she has any reality check contacts in her world view. In her column she uses the old stand-by of mountain climbing as a metaphor for life. There are reasons that things become cliches and that isn’t just to annoy us. These chestnuts exist because they are quite apt. I don’t have a mountain in Hawaii to ruminate upon but  my kitchen table serves reasonably well most days when I am pondering my life and writing about things. Oprah made a list of five observations that resulted from her backyard hike that I feel are worth reflection:

 

1. Challenges are often more difficult than they seem at the outset.

And sometimes, they are not.

 

2. An ascent that at first looks smooth turns out to have unseen dips             and ridges and valleys.

 

Murphy’s Law will usually hold true here, but the unforeseen can be the best part of any journey if you hold the panic to a minimum and really think about it.

 

3. The higher you climb, the thicker the weeds.

 

And weeds don’t pull themselves. They can take the shape of preconceived notions about yourself or negative people who have some personal need to see you fail. Point is that you will run across them and the closer you are to the top, the more of them there will seem to be.

 

4. You need a clear vision of where you’re going if you want to avoid getting disoriented by the clouds that roll in and block your view.

 

True, and to a seat of the pants Sagittarian this can be tough. This when it is good to know an earth sign or two.

 

5. You have to be determined to make it to the top. Otherwise every slip, stumble, and fall (all of which happened to me today, within that first hour) will give you an excuse to turn around and head home.

 

Yes, it is all too easy to find or make up excuses for not being where you want to be. You have to want it. You need to be hungry. Only people who don’t need to win the lottery, or would be better off in the long run if they didn’t, pick those winning numbers. The rest of us have to work for what we want, and work is exactly that though interestingly it never appears to be so to those who prefer the excuse route.

 

Finally, I would add that you need to remember that mountain climbing should be a little bit of fun at least. Views should be admired whenever possible and shared with those who mean the most.