great endeavors

As with many new things that I must overcome, it seems the hardest part is simply taking the first step. I find myself caught in a trance while I stand and stare at the mountain's steep snowy base. I'm looking for stairs covered in red carpet to lead me to the top. I want to prevail, but I do not want to cimmit the energy or suffer the pain that it requires to ascend the peak.

I picture myself standing on top of this mountain, shaking my walking stick in victory, looking back down at the springs of life and saying, "Yes, I crested another peak, that's one less mountain I must climb."

Peter DeLeo, Survive!, his story of crashing in the Sierra Nevadas and walking through the wilderness of ice and snow for thirteen days to reach civilization and send help for two friends at the crash site.

(I highly recommend this book. It's an amazing story. I started reading it at 9 p.m. Truly I couldn't put it down. I reached page 241, the end of the book, and looked at the clock. It was 5:30 a.m. I had stayed up all night reading DeLeo's story. When was the last time you did that?