From every lofty mountain...

“Seek the treasure you value most dearly, and if you bow your head, let it be to a lofty mountain”, says the ancient Māori proverb. Meaning - aim high and aspire to that which is truly valuable. More so, it speaks of persevering, overcoming obstacles, and not allowing them to keep you from achieving your goal. 

 Being new in my new role, is giving me permission to approach things with child-like naivety, at least for a while. I have learnt that the land we are on, was gifted by the local tribe and they named it Kohuora – “the place where the mist lifts”. I have noticed that this is quite fitting, because our work here deals with people who emerge from the dense fog of their complicated existence. And it is impossible not to see that have a mountain behind our facility, our own lofty mountain.

This mountain is a daily reminder that we all have struggles. No matter how unique or complicated they are, no person, family, or organisation are without their lofty mountain. It keeps us humble, it makes us sharper, it reminds us that our struggles are real and relatable, it makes us human. But there is more, because it is the in the overcoming of these obstacle that our goals become purposeful.

"How do I overcome my mountain?" would be a very apt question right now. However, ordinary questions, yield ordinary answers. Instead, should we not be asking extra-ordinary questions? It makes me curious about what my actual lofty mountain is, how I can approach this ascent differently, what would it take to look at this mountain with different eyes, and how I make this more purposeful? Here are a few ideas, from base camp:

Identify your mountain – be clear about what you are facing. You have limited resources, and you can not waste it on unnecessary hills and valleys. Choose your mountain wisely.

Redefine your mountain – you alone have the power to see it as either insurmountable, or as part of your journey to purpose. It sounds like linguistics, but not when you are the shear rock face of the mountain.

Reposition yourself – after many failed attempts you get tired and despondent. Remind yourself that you are not defined by your mountain, but by how you eventually summit.

The power of choice - the mountain will never move, but you can. You choose the next step.

Waiting - it is never a waste of time. Be patient. Timing can make or break the mission. Impatience can break you.

The power of helping – it is strange but true - when we get involved in helping others, when we help them push through their own fog, help them see more clearly, when we encourage them up their mountain, somehow we are busy scaling our mountain. We all have these simple, yet priceless gifts we can give: recognise someone for their inherent worth, help them create a greater sense of certainty, affirm them, be there for them, treat them fairly.

Where ever you are, whatever mountain you are facing, take heart - from this very mountain you will see victory, if it isn’t today then it will be tomorrow, and from your mountain of despair you will see new things being established for you.