Adventures in the Clouds

The day started off amuck. My mind was contorted in a vast array of emotions, and I struggled to maintain a non-contorted composure. I gathered my things trying to repress anything I was feeling. “I will think about it later”, I thought to myself. My friend Eddie picked me up, and we went and picked up our other friends Laura and Rajni as we made our way to Golden Rock Plantation, the starting point for our trek to the Mountain Source.

The looming peak looked so serene. Serene, but hiding something. Its elusiveness was exhilarating me. I knew that something was awaiting me up there, but like all realizations it would only come after passing through fire. As we began our trek up, Rajni soon realized after about 20 minutes that she could not take it anymore. Eddie and I told the others to go ahead as we took Rajni back down the mountain so that she was not alone. The initial portion of the trek was filled small shanty town and villages with villagers that looked at us with hungry eyes. You could sense that they were living in an era far away from the ones that we are from.

Eddie and I continued our climb back up; the path was filled with curves, greenery, foliage, and spectacular views amidst its twists and turns. As we continued to beast the initial ½ of the way, we soon realized that we were simply in the calm before the storm. The trail narrowed to two feet or so. The mountain on our left, and an impending death on our right. The path became turbulent with rocks and mud, and one false step could be your last. There was no room to stop and take a break, so our only choice was to continue forward.

Eddie and I really bonded as we talked about our goals, our dreams, our past. These deep conversations provided a perfect framework for my own self-realization. I felt like I had become one with nature. My OCDness was thrown out of the picture, and for one of the first times in my life, I felt pure. My body ached, my head was racing, but not with thoughts. It was racing with the majesty of what was going on around me.

As we continued on our path, we noticed ahead two donkeys were blocking our way. They were continually slipping off the path, yet catching themselves in the final moment. The path was far too narrow to pass by them, and we were dumbfounded on how to get by these two confounded beasts. Eddie and I managed to get behind a tree trunk, and I with my walking stick tried to draw the donkeys closer. They looked at me confused, but finally in a very quick moment, they turned charged down the path in the direction from which we had come. The path was now clear to continue onward.
We soon came upon giant rock edifices of which we had to essentially climb our way up. My body strength was giving, and my world began to spin. Eventually we worked out way up to the top and met up with our group.

It was time now to head back. I had a feeling that the second half of the journey would be even more arduous. This proved to be true. Slipping, stumbles, collapsing plagued my journey, but I knew that this was my test. This was my test to myself that I am stronger than people give me credit for. I can handle the things life throws at me with my own internal strength and do not need external support on a constant basis to overcome my trials and tribulations.

Minutes turned to hours and the path continued into a convolution of seemingly endless bends and slopes. My legs were shaking to the point that at times they would just give in. We the path began to calm into a more rocky, but less steep terrain, I was able to regain myself. Despite feeling weak and fatigued, I felt anew. I feel a new energy inside of myself. Something that I have never felt before. Something that had laid dormant for years; a white light so to speak.

I am unsure of the future, and I am unsure of the effects that the past will continue to have, but I do know that right now I have the arms to combat against the present. No single person has the ability to bring me down. I have recognized a truer visage of myself that I hope to bring out exoterically.

As we drove away, I could sense that I had left something behind on the mountain. The skin of a former self. The mirage of a personality that I had showcased to the world. As the mountain grew smaller in the distance, I closed my eyes just as a smile crept over my face.