Today We Begin Again
No Matter How Hard Yesterday Was, We Can Begin Again.
High altitude has its own memory.
Fatigue settles into your bones. And stays there.
Every morning, before the first rays of the brand new day’s sunlight hit the craggy peaks, our lead guide Avi, would gather us together and say: “Leave yesterday to the mountain. Today, we begin again.”
Easy enough for him to say.
My injured hip throbbed every single moment of every single day of the trek. Each morning, I woke wondering if my leg would hold.
But Avi’s words reminded me that I didn’t have to conquer the whole day.
I only had to take the first step.
Slowly. Gingerly.
Intentionally.
Vistare Vistare (Nepali: slowly, slowly)— one breath, one step.
This mantra guided every step of my Everest journey and still helps me feel centered when I need encouragement to move forward: Our point of power is in the now. Today, we begin again.
This omnipresent hip pain reared its ugly head once again this year. This October, on an intense hiking trip in Utah’s Arches National Park, I felt the all-too-familiar sharp, shooting pain emanate from my hip once more.
This time, I wanted to push through the pain. I wanted to keep moving forward. But, I had to realize that I couldn’t force healing to happen. I couldn’t force the hike to happen.
Instead, I had to and still have to, simply honor where my body is in every moment and focus on healing, one step at a time. Vistare, vistare.
Mindful Moment of Reflection:
What are you ready to put down from this past year so you can begin again?