Life's Obstacles - TT Over the Hill

Every day is a new adventure, a new discovery, a new challenge. Life is a grand mountain path with obstacles all along the way. Sometimes, we encounter walls that need to be knocked down or climbed over. Occasionally, we come to a river. We have to build or maybe just repair a bridge, or we might just have to dive in and swim across. There are untraveled, undiscovered paths that need to be found and cleared, not only for ourselves but for others along the way as well.

Once in a while, though, we are lucky enough to come across simple little hills that can easily be traversed. They are in open fields of green grass underneath bright blue skies with fluffy clouds providing just enough shade from the happy yellow sun. How I wish for more hills in my life.

There is little to be learned from life's hills. We simply walk up their slope, sometimes slight, sometimes steep, reach the top, and breathe easy on the way down. Once in a while, the way down is a little steep, so we must take our steps carefully, but it's good to be reminded to slow down sometimes. Carelessness is the only way to muck up the journey over the hill.

How I wish for more hills in my life. How I would love to walk in the open air, know all of my surroundings, breathe easier as I climb and descend life's gentlest obstacles. I can barely imagine the bliss of not slamming into walls, falling into murky or violent rivers, or tripping along uncharted paths. But there is little to be learned from hills.

For it is climbing the wall that makes us appreciate what is on the other side. It is pushing through the wall that teaches us how strong we can be. It is building a bridge from nothing that shows us we are capable of far beyond our imagined abilities. It is diving into the river, feeling the searing pain of hitting the bottom hard because we didn't take the time to anticipate the shallowness of the water, that teaches us to look more closely, take a little time to plan before we jump. It is the clearing of an old, forgotten pathway, having its thorns and branches tear into our skin that reminds us of pain, reminds us to appreciate the absence of pain. And it is the discovery of a new pathway that opens our eyes to the world.

The only obstacles in life that are worth facing are the ones that make us think, work, sweat, cry, fight, scream, build, destroy, and break us down. Those are the obstacles that make us learn, make us stronger, and show us how great we can be and how the world is full of endless possibilities, infinite paths, unimaginable wonders. Those are obstacles that make life truly worth living. But oh, how I wish I could simply walk over more hills.