Take Your Time

 

I arrived at the bottom of Mt. Fuji at 7am.

Before starting, a man said that I had 12 hours to complete the trail, in order to catch the final bus home for the night. Otherwise, I would have to sleep on the mountain.

I thought 12 hours was a sufficient amount of time, but it caused me to rush at first.

After a half-hour, I was exhausted and contemplated quitting.

The ground felt like sinking rocks the size of tennis balls. The trail was steep. 

What should I do? I asked myself. Go back down? Rest? Go only half-way up?

Then it occurred to me, go slowly.

A motto for life, perhaps. Life may feel fast, but if one takes their time, slowly and steadily, they can enjoy it more.

Moving forward, the next 4 hours consisted of a slow ascent up the mountain. I was literally stepping about 6 inches at a time. This allowed me to keep my breath, something I lost at the beginning.

Eventually, I found myself at the 8th station, the final stop before the summit. 

It was 1pm. 6 hours before the final bus home.

Anxiety built when I was told that the next section was the most difficult. 

It was essentially climbing over, under, and around giant boulders. 

I stuck to my motto, though. Slowly taking my time. 

Then, all of a sudden, thunder. Followed by gray clouds. Then rain. All within a few minutes.

Standing eye to eye with a thunderstorm was both petrifying and beautiful.

Another motto for life, I suppose. Even when thunder strikes, do not rush, navigate it slowly instead.

By 2pm, I was on the summit. 3pm, descending down a more human-friendly path. 6pm, on a bus back home.

Take your time.