I Dare You To Look To The Mountaintop

Don't stop climbing just because others cannot see the mountain you are climbing. It does not mean you are mad. It simply means that others lack your vision or insight.

Their blindness is not a reason to stop climbing, it is a reason to find another foothold and push on. Despite the fact that things might become difficult, climbing down means walking in darkness through many of the same hazards you overcame to get here. It means turning your back on the hope of a brand new future, where the paths of tomorrow just might be paved with all you hope for.

This is why we fall. Fatigued after so many struggles, we begin to lose sight of our goals. We forget to look up. We struggle for the sake of struggle, choosing instead to walk those familiar paths, comfortable in our misery and despair, embittered by even the air that we breathe and resentful of even those we hold dear. We find ourselves blindfolded by the past and lost to the future across a landscape that was difficult to escape in the first place, even with the light of hope shining in our hearts.

A great man once said “slavery stole my history” - Malcolm X. But I would offer by reply, that a lack of knowledge of my past won’t destroy my future. Fear of putting aside the chains of the past does that, because the past is what constrains the hearts of all oppressed people.

Those chains are symbols, used to condition us to believe that we are of little worth and to keep us ignorant of how beautiful life can be. They are used to keep our souls divided and conflicted. But if we open our eyes, for just a fleeting moment, then we will see more people climbing the same mountains. Although the paths might differ and only cross mine here or there, it proves we have more in common than anyone might think. Therefore, it is important you do not cease your climb, because for anyone that looks up, or follows your path, such as your children or others inspired by your bravery to stay the course, you will bring hope.

On 3 April 1968 another great mountaineer Dr Martin Luther King said in his speech at Mason Temple in Memphis “... I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land… and though I may not get there with you, I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land”.

The reason these words were and still are so pivotal is because he wasn’t just talking about black people. He was referring to all people across all divides whether gender or race etc which is why when the mountain shook with his murder it was felt all across the world.

They who would keep us in chains do not want us to succeed. Peace is found at the top of a mountain, not the bottom. Let go of your fear and climb…