Growing Pains

Respect the mountain. Not as a rule or a set of guidelines, but as Mother. She is loving, but unforgiving. She is beautiful, she is wicked. Free skiing a volcano in the summer corn will realign your heart. A soggy slog will rekindle your fear of God. Any relationship requires an abundant amount of effort to reap the rewards. Commit. You must know the mountain’s weaknesses, and her strengths. Her past can reflect her future. You must know her friends, the snow and the wind. Without this knowledge you will steal from Mother, and she will struggle to provide. Mother weeps for her children, but we do not hear. 

The enemy of Mother has crept up the valley and its human blood spills into the hills. Cities toss and turn, straining under the weight of too many people, things, ideas and the natural drift towards wealth disparity. We seek our roots and find what is left of Mother in the mountains. We no longer recognize one as the same. Mother is mountain. We trail little grubby breadcrumbs as we trek from the city, through the foothills, and back home. Wrappers, devastating boot tracks in the delicate alpine environment. We take without giving. Fuel, pieces of the ecosystem, harmony with beast. As our relationship crumbles, Mother can no longer help. Her natural remedies for the sick, shelter for the poor, a spiritual awakening for the masses. True love. We have learned from the rivers, trees, and weather, how to live our lives. But no more. We worship control. We fight Mother, and she cries.    

Mother loves unconditionally and will never leave our side. So how do we get back home? We must spend quality time, not just physically, but in love. Respect and protect her. Acknowledge her infinite wisdom and devote your life to understanding. Why does she now burn so hot, so fast? Where have the glaciers gone? Why does a deep slab avalanche take the life of a beautiful child? What is Mother telling us? Be open to understanding, knowing that we do not know, and may never know. Learn. As you did once as a child. Come home to Mother, she will provide. She has been here all along.