Mud On the Mountain
Sometimes when you climb a mountain the mud rolls down. Torrents or trickles, it comes, as sure as the mountain is high...whether we see it coming or not doesn't matter.
It slides and takes your legs out; your urge to resist is nothing to it, and it quickly erodes like the mountainside escaping from beneath your toes.
It drenches you in a cold wet blanket of filth...a confused mess that doubts the reason you were climbing in the first place.
What do you do about it?
You can let the mud claim you, of course. Such an easy thing to do, to give in.
It will envelop you and drown your thoughts and feelings if you let it. No toiling means no suffering...save for the desire deep inside you that suffocates knowing no chance for recourse.
You may just end up back where you started, unsettled by the mess you're now deep in, just trying which way to wade through the murk to get somewhere, anywhere else not stained with the inescapable mud.
It's not easy to fight against the flow. There are no signs here to guide you. There is mud all over the place, who wants to crawl through that?
Do what you need to find your true will, first and foremost. You're in the thick of it now, it's approaching fast, no time to think. How much do you want to reach the top? Can you feel your heart ache just thinking about it? All any real trial is, in a very ultimate sense, is doubt personified. There are always ways people find to let that doubt win, always a reason to give up. They give power to their doubt, as opposed to use the energy constructively to find a way out. As any obstacle, it will pass if you decide to persevere. Your honest, naked will cannot be denied by doubt, once you've felt it. Everything goes to its place and balances in a way you feel...you'll know. And just as there are reasons to quit, there are as many things to help you through if you but seek them. If there is no doubt, there is no trial; it's just one more thing you step over to reach where it is you're going. Once in a great while, no matter how sure your path seems, something will work to screw that up. It will happen. If the bridge is out, for heaven's sake, find another way to go. So long as you are true to your course, and resolve to overcome those, you'll naturally make the effort to do so, and overcome. Notice how the greatest memories you have are of either reaching a goal, or overcoming those tense odds on your way?
It's not supposed to be easy. There's always a new trouble to face, you do it everyday. You can let it spoil your chances, or you can find a way to make it work. Mud? There are tools...people too, you can use to hold strong against it until it passes. If you look, there's likely a place it's missing where you can claim refuge. And however gross you feel covered in mud at the time, it will wash off in the end. All it takes is your realization to make the effort.
It slides and takes your legs out; your urge to resist is nothing to it, and it quickly erodes like the mountainside escaping from beneath your toes.
It drenches you in a cold wet blanket of filth...a confused mess that doubts the reason you were climbing in the first place.
What do you do about it?
You can let the mud claim you, of course. Such an easy thing to do, to give in.
It will envelop you and drown your thoughts and feelings if you let it. No toiling means no suffering...save for the desire deep inside you that suffocates knowing no chance for recourse.
You may just end up back where you started, unsettled by the mess you're now deep in, just trying which way to wade through the murk to get somewhere, anywhere else not stained with the inescapable mud.
It's not easy to fight against the flow. There are no signs here to guide you. There is mud all over the place, who wants to crawl through that?
Do what you need to find your true will, first and foremost. You're in the thick of it now, it's approaching fast, no time to think. How much do you want to reach the top? Can you feel your heart ache just thinking about it? All any real trial is, in a very ultimate sense, is doubt personified. There are always ways people find to let that doubt win, always a reason to give up. They give power to their doubt, as opposed to use the energy constructively to find a way out. As any obstacle, it will pass if you decide to persevere. Your honest, naked will cannot be denied by doubt, once you've felt it. Everything goes to its place and balances in a way you feel...you'll know. And just as there are reasons to quit, there are as many things to help you through if you but seek them. If there is no doubt, there is no trial; it's just one more thing you step over to reach where it is you're going. Once in a great while, no matter how sure your path seems, something will work to screw that up. It will happen. If the bridge is out, for heaven's sake, find another way to go. So long as you are true to your course, and resolve to overcome those, you'll naturally make the effort to do so, and overcome. Notice how the greatest memories you have are of either reaching a goal, or overcoming those tense odds on your way?
It's not supposed to be easy. There's always a new trouble to face, you do it everyday. You can let it spoil your chances, or you can find a way to make it work. Mud? There are tools...people too, you can use to hold strong against it until it passes. If you look, there's likely a place it's missing where you can claim refuge. And however gross you feel covered in mud at the time, it will wash off in the end. All it takes is your realization to make the effort.