Pushing Through

The sun would be setting in half an hour, and Abbie and I wanted to conquer the last boulder. This boulder, however, was different. It was bigger and taller than all the others. It had less cracks and crevices to place my hands and feet.

It would be hard but not impossible. Nothing is impossible, and no adventure is too bold or dangerous.

The boulder, which we called THE Moss Rock, stood over twenty feet high, and as I stood in its shadow, I had no idea how I would take it on. But up I climbed. Up and up, I climbed. One foot up. One hand up. Both feet up, and man, I’m already holding on for dear life. I finally get about ten feet up, and I’m stuck. I don’t see a path up, and I have no idea how to get back down.

I boldly maneuver onward…
…and then I fall.

It wasn’t a terrible fall. I didn’t fall from all 20 feet, just from 10 feet.

It hurt a bit, but I pushed through the pain. I swung my camera bag behind me, and began climbing again. Left foot. Right foot. Change handholds. Now, right foot and then left foot. I get to the same place. I’m 10 feet up, and like before, I don’t see a path up.

I put my foot a bit higher, and push up…
…only to fall right back on the ground.

“You got this, Aly!” Abbie said.

 Ha, she wasn’t the one who had just fallen from ten feet. TWICE. I put my leg up on the rock, ready to go again. The pain was bad, really bad. I had hurt my right leg, right hip, and left arm.

“Abbie, I can’t. If I do this again, I’m really hurt. It doesn’t make sense for me to do it again if I’m just going to fall at the same place.”

“Fine, I’ll go!” Abbie joyfully skipped up to the rock, stared at it for a moment, and then began climbing. Since she’s a good six inches taller than me, Abbie made it to the top.  “Dude, you have to get up here. The view is awesome!”

“Abbie, are you kidding me?”

She wasn’t.

I pushed through the pain. Again. I get to the same spot from which I fell the previous two times, and finally, I figure out a way up.

Success

The view was incredible.  The photos we took were incredible, absolutely incredible. The sunset was gorgeous. Do I regret falling? Sure, a little bit. But it was worth it.

We all fall. We all fail. But if we stop, we’ll never know what’s at the top. We’ll never feel success if we don’t push through the failure and through all the pain we may face.

Together, we push through the pain so we can see the sunset.