Dorothy never had to climb a mountain in Oz because, as far as I know, there were no mountains mentioned by L. Frank Baum. There was, instead, the long and winding Yellow Brick Road (YBR) that stretched from Munchkin Land to the Emerald City.
I had the privilege this morning of having a phone conversation with one of the best students I ever had the good fortune of having during my 17 year “tenure” at Marist College. (He was actually not one of the best, he was the best.)
During the course of our conversation I talked about how in life we climb a mountain. Obviously it was an analogy, but I thrive on analogies. Hence, a blog about mountain climbing.
Rare is the person who doesn’t envision a mountain they want or need to climb. It becomes a goal. The desire to reach the summit becomes a driving force in their life. Making it to the top of the mountain often becomes an obsession.
I like mountains. I think having a mountain in your life is a “thing.” I don’t say a good or bad thing because there are so many factors involved in climbing the mountain that could eventually define us and be the pinnacle of our life story.
I hasten to add that the mountain must be your mountain. We should never climb someone else’s mountain or else we risk wasting our life on the climb up. And if we are sure we are climbing our mountain, it would help if we knew what we hoped to accomplish be making the climb.
In one of his most famous speeches, Martin Luther King, Jr. told us he had been to the mountaintop and saw the promised land. That’s something only a handful of people ever achieve. But, as we all know, MLK’s journey to the mountaintop was arduous.
I don’t know of any MLK mountain climbers, but that’s not because I am not surrounded by many good people, it’s just that most of us see fame, success, riches, etc. at the top of the mountain. We don’t see what Lincoln, MLK, Gandhi, Rosa Parks, Anne Frank…did when they set out to climb their mountain.
Today there have been many people who have reached the summit of their mountain only to be enveloped in a cloud that prevents them from seeing “the promised land.” Instead of having increased vision, they settle for the fame or notoriety that came from scaling the mountain.
I applaud all those noble mountain climbers who are selfless trekkers. I salute those who did see a promised land.
However, I need to add that our lives are not diminished if we are not mountain climbers. We need to take pride in our journey on the YBR because along the way we will learn to think more clearly, love more dearly, and have the courage of our convictions.
Along The Yellow Brick Road 