Climb the Same Mountain

Finding the Sublime Again

Dear Death,

I used to feel the sublime in my life. I’d climb mountains and feel awe when I looked down on green valleys from the peaks. Now I go back to the same summits and I see nice views but feel little more than nostalgia and melancholy, if anything.

I miss feeling like the world was full of awe inspiring mystery. Is that sublime state connected to being young? Can I find it again? If so, how?

Sincerely,

Over the Hill

Dear Over the Hill,

The spice of rarity beyond the usual boundaries can blossom into the sublime the first time you climb a mountain or when you’ve climbed the highest mountains you’ve ever climbed. It’s a wonderful way to have a first taste of the sublime. But many lose the thrill of achievement and awe in heights that have become familiar.

The loss of awe is a big thing. It is hard to feel like the best of life’s experiences are behind you. And yes, those sublime moments are among the most alive a person can be.

The young have only one advantage in finding the sublime. It is easier to find things you can do for the first time when you are young. Anything you do enough becomes familiar. If you need an experience to be unfamiliar to feel a state of awe, well, you start to see the problem. Climbing another mountain can start to feel like just another Tuesday if you climb mountains enough.

When an activity becomes familiar, the mind can retreat back into itself and its inner dialogs and the distractions. The problem is the temptation into distraction, not the path up the mountain. The mountain is still a worthy place to feel the sublime if you would focus your attention back upon the experience at hand.

To find your way back to the sublime, plan another hike and treat it as a walking meditation. On your first hike, aim to keep your attention nestled in where your feet touch the ground as you move. Every time you notice you have become distracted, just go back to the focus of your feet on the ground. Do your whole hike with this focus and see what you experience.

Then do a hike taking refuge in your breath or the sensation of air on your skin as you hike or the sounds around you as you hike. Expect that you will get distracted on each hike and practice coming back to the focus point. There are many different ways of doing walking meditation. Experiment with them all or even make up new ways to play with your attention as you walk.

You may just find that the sublime was always there. The mountain was never what gave you the wonderful state. It was your attention given fully in doing something you love. Reconnect with your attention as you climb.

Considering hikes worked for you in the past, aim to become a master of walking meditations if you would like to have a relationship with the sublime until the end of your life. Remember that death is coming so find your way of reliably connecting to the sublime now with great urgency before all opportunity is lost.

Sincerely,

Death

The Croak Section

Ask Death a Question! Curiosity is the beginning of all great endeavors. Forming a good question is the first building block of creating a life you want to live in. Send your questions to askdeath@wecroak.com

Work with me: Whether you want to reconnect to the sublime or grow a business, invest in your path with great coaching. Find out more at www.tidepathcoach.com

• Hansa