I know better, but that doesn’t mean I always do better.
Yesterday, on the mountain, at the end of a long day of skiing, I could barely feel my hips. My knees were crying out for me to just take off the skis and call it a day, already. But nooooo!!!! I had to be all big and bad and prove that I could hang with the North Face attired skiers swooshing past me on their way to the blue and black trails.
I ski the green trails, people. And, while I consider making it to the bottom of the mountain on skis, and in one piece to be skiing, there are others who might differ with me.
Somewhere along the way, on that very last run of the day, the mountain got in my head. I looked at the steep terrain ahead of me. It seemed to stretch for miles with no end in sight, and I heard the mountain call my name. It said, “What the heck are you doing? You are not a skier!” And I believed it! (I knew not to let it talk to me like that.)
The mountain got inside my head, and the next thing I knew, I was looking up at the sky from flat on my back on the side of that bossy mountain. Darn it!
So, let me just tell you what I’m thinking, here. What I’m thinking is that we’ve all got mountains, and those mountains would like to get inside our heads. They may not look like snow-covered peaks rising up out of the Colorado grandeur. Maybe your mountain looks like writing a book, or raising a family, or finishing a degree, or auditioning for a starring role, or cooking Thanksgiving dinner, or speaking in front of an audience, or…well…you get the point. And there stands your mountain, all bossy with its hands on its hips, calling your name and saying, “What the heck are you doing? You are not a writer/good enough parent/star student/box office draw/good cook/public speaker!”
Don’t you believe it! Don’t let that mountain talk to you like that!
Listen. Someone has to ski the green trails. And also? Everyone skiing the blue and black trails got started on the green trails. So, put those skis back on and get back on that chair lift! Put that mountain in its place. God knows who you really are. He’s got plans for you!
What does your mountain look like? Is it bossing you around? What would it look like for you to get back on that chair lift?