Culmination

Hey Steemers! I want to talk about joy. And pride. And why the ends justify the means, and how rewarding it is to trek, each and every day, in the direction of our goals.

Let me start by saying that my current elation is inspired by two upcoming events. Both will help me begin my career as a baby health care professional... and I cannot wait. The anticipation increases my heart rate and makes me physically unable to keep still. Official diagnosis? Culmination. The culmination of months of grinding, putting myself out there, and waiting. These months have tested my patience and shaken my confidence more than I'd like to admit. However, two calls of confirmation and I feel like Maria in the opening scene of Sound of Music. Cultivating our realities is a beautiful, yet trying process. The beginning stages feel so removed from the end result; lack of immediate gratification leaves us in anxious limbo. These are the times of journeying towards rather than settling in, and they are exhilarating in their own right. And for every moment they are NOT, where they make us feel less than, run down, depleted... they will make up for it. Reaching a goal- even if not in its exact, original form- is ridiculously satisfying. Revel in these mountain top moments. They are rare and gorgeous, connected by rocky paths. Remember that we arrived here by the sweat, blood, and beauty of our efforts. Remember that new mountaintops will blend into the horizon line, and we will forget how hard they were to summit. This should inspire us to remember two things. One, show gratitude to the blessings in our lives. Two, this too shall pass. Struggling is a means of progressing, and it is all transient. So, get drunk off that electricity in your veins. Let out a little whoop and dance around in your underwear. Celebrate in a way that makes you feel your accomplishments in your viscera. The light in me honors the light in you, love. Then, take a moment to reflect on how you reached this point. The strategies used, the time it took; the humans who helped, the sacrifices made. To understand the process is to make it a part of our arsenal. Each time we summit, we learn lessons that will translate to future challenges. Life is a series of adventures, making us over into badass mountaineers. A moment of amazement for my mother, who summited Half Dome at 60 years old