We drove around to a few different places, taking some pictures and enjoying the visit. I knew that at some point I wanted to get onto the stage. There's some really cool spots there with cool textures and colors that I could see with my mind's eye as the perfect spots for some pictures of this awesome duo. I knew that if we parked at the top of the amphitheater, we would have to walk all the way down to the stage. It wasn't the walking down that felt so daunting to me. It was the return back up! So I decided to go to bottom parking lot so that we wouldn't have to traverse so many stairs. I was quite dismayed when I realized that my memory had failed me as we stood at the bottom of a very long and steep set of stairs up to the stage area! My companions began to climb without hesitation. It was easy for them. Of course it was ~ they're young and in love! I was reluctant, but began to climb. As I climbed, I kept looking at how far ahead of me they were. I kept watching the athletes that were there RUNNING up the stairs like it was no big deal at all! I kept looking at how far I still had to climb. I kept having to stop to catch my breath and rest my legs. Finally, after stopping for the third time, a thought came to me. "Stop looking at how far you have to go! Stop comparing yourself to others! Just take one step at a time. Focus on the next step and climb." So that's what I did! And I made it to the top without having to stop again! I was out of breath and tired, but I made it!
You can then imagine my disappointment when my friend said to me that we wouldn't be able to get onto the stage! It was closed because it was being set up for an event. However, determined to make the best of it and to not have climbed those miserable stairs in vain, I looked around and found a few great spots to do some pics!
Once back at the bottom, I took a moment to take a couple pictures of the object of my lesson. Once home and seated comfortably in front of my computer, I found a quote that would fit nicely and went to work designing.
I love how this little experience is really a wonderful lesson in life. How often do we set out to do something and then get overwhelmed with the difficulty of the tasks required. We look around and get feeling down on ourselves because everyone else is so much faster, stronger, better than us. We focus on how far away the goal is and get frustrated that we aren't making progress faster. It is in these moments that we need to pause and remind ourselves to "stop looking at how far you have to go! Stop comparing yourself to others! Just take one step at a time. Focus on the next step and climb."
We may find times when we are not able to do exactly what we thought we we going to do at first. Being flexible is a key element to being happy and to being successful! I will return to the amphitheater another day. I will climb the stairs again. I will take the pictures I want to take! And I will be stronger for the journey!
Happy climbing, my friends!!
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