“The Journey of the Self is more significant than any other journey that we take because once you find yourself you will never feel lost.”
“The journey teaches us along the way, and that is why we remember it. It is the journey that takes you to where you are. Take nothing away from the destination, it is where you wanted to be all along, but the destination is where you rest. Where you get to look at the amazing sights, the fruits of your hard work; the journey is where you learn.”
Benjamin finished his journal and marked the page, they had trekked for 8 hours straight and it was time to set up camp for the day. Out of habit, he finished his journal first and then decided to put up the tent, with the temperatures near freezing him and his crew couldn’t wait to get inside the tents.
The crew of 4 had set out on the trek 3 days ago and they were nearly at the peak. They had received a setback before the start of their trek, a few days before the actual trip they were notified that their flight had been delayed and would be taking flight one day later. Although it didn’t seem like too much, one of the members of the crew said they didn’t want to come as it was a bad omen, that brought about a running joke that when they did reach the peak they would all take multiple pictures just for good measure.
The Tents had been set up away from the cliffs, they were cautious not to get in the way of an Avalanche. They retreated inside and got in their sleeping bags.
Benjamin although tired found it hard to sleep, he was too upbeat and a million things were running through his head. He kept trying to imagine what he would feel in that moment when he would finally make it to the peak, what emotion or emotions would be going through him, would he be as satisfied with it as he thought it would make him. He kept picturing it in his head, each scenario more dramatic than the last, him and the other crawling in the snow to get there, him almost slipping and hanging on before finally getting there, it all seemed so surreal.
The one thing that Benjamin knew for sure was that this will make him a different person, however, it ended. He would come out on the other side stronger and that he would get the answer he was seeking for so long. He wanted to know what kind of man he was, and as he and his mates inched closer to their goal it became more clear to him what kind of person he was. He had often doubted himself, always been the victim of his own criticism, he kept thinking he was the guy who wanted big things but he never did it because he was too afraid. But as he lay in the cold, he felt proud of himself, he felt that he had proved himself wrong. That he was slowly becoming the person that he claimed he would one day be.
It had been a lifetime goal of his to climb Mount Everest, he was so full of energy he wanted to get up and head to the top now, he would sleep when he got up there. Cathay had joked that the pictures wouldn’t be clear in the night time.
He closed his eyes and tried to turn off his mind. The night was still with only the sound of the wind blowing by audible for kilometers.
The weird buzzing by his arm woke up Benjamin, his alarm was ringing. He got up and walked out, asked everyone to get ready, going into each tent one by one. It wouldn’t be long now after everyone got ready to go and all the tents were packed back up they continued their mammoth task. The calculations hadn’t been precise although they had made sure they took extra supplies, Just in case. With each step they began feeling more and more Invincible, nothing could break them, they wouldn’t let anything break them. Plunging the Trekking stick through the snow to leverage themselves they truly felt like the gravity was getting stronger.
They had to make a stop again, to check the map, heading in the wrong direction now would be foolish, Benjamin took this time to take out his journal and make another note, he wouldn’t write anything else in his journal today, “Your speed doesn’t matter if you are heading in the right direction, Your speed doesn’t matter if you are heading in the wrong direction either.”
With nothing but white snow and the occasional stubborn cliff that refused to get covered in snow, it was hard for a layman to know where they were headed, but Ben and his crew had been trekking for 6 years. Alan was in charge of maps and he knew his responsibility well. He looked towards the rest of the crew and pointed with his fingers, they could see the cliff covered in a veil of snow that was eclipsing the peak, with smiles on their faces, they resumed their climb.
Benjamin saw the Peak slide into his view, he couldn’t pinpoint the feeling, but once he reached the top he knew what it felt like. Liberating, that’s what the feeling was, Liberating. In all the time they spent climbing they never let their spirits fall, it was in that long exhale that they realized how amazing it felt. Benjamin looked and everyone and they all hugged each other, they had made it. Benjamin said he wanted to say something, they all looked at him and listened. He pulled out his journal, “I want to be able to climb the biggest mountain. I have three people crazy enough to be doing this with me, I will read this to them once we are at the top, and I am writing this down because I know I will not remember what I will want to say.” They all laughed and were overwhelmed with joy.
This Journey had made them feel invincible, and they would always look back on this, to remind themselves how determined they really are, how strong they really are, and how much they were capable of accomplishing.
