{"id":1062,"date":"2021-07-13T08:55:27","date_gmt":"2021-07-13T08:55:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ultrazaps.com\/terryblogg\/?p=1062"},"modified":"2021-07-13T08:55:27","modified_gmt":"2021-07-13T08:55:27","slug":"incounters-3-the-mountain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/terry-times.com\/book\/index.php\/2021\/07\/13\/incounters-3-the-mountain\/","title":{"rendered":"Incounters 3 The Mountain!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

Andrew,Connie,<\/p>\n

Geraldine\/Ian,\u00a0Julia, KarenM,<\/p>\n

Lisby, Marisa D,<\/p>\n

NanditaM, nishiD,<\/p>\n

Preethi, rigi,<\/p>\n

Shaziya, ShireenL, shobha,<\/p>\n

Zomie<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"cid:00ba01cade26$447f7e10$0100007f@xaviers\"<\/p>\n

photo montage : ruchi palan<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0INCOUNTERS \u2013 3 : THE MOUNTAIN<\/strong><\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t easy. All day long I had been toiling upwards. Behind me was so much that I had traversed. Ahead there seemed to be so much more.<\/p>\n

It had started off well, really. Some months back I had seen the mountain from a distance. It looked a small enough mountain to me. And the peak thrusting above into the belly of low lying clouds looked like a reasonable\u00a0challenge. I had read about challenges like these in books of adventure. So many enterprising men and women had accepted\u00a0similar challenges\u00a0and scaled heights to glory and fame.<\/p>\n

I could do it too. I really wanted to do it too.<\/p>\n

So I prepared myself for a while.\u00a0And early one morning\u00a0 I set off to conquer this mountain .<\/p>\n

It has always been that way with mountains. One does not just climb them. One conquers them. Like as if it were a battle. The challenge of the mountain against my determination – whatever the odds that were there in store for me.<\/p>\n

The early part of the climb was gradual and easy. Rough shod broken paths, here-and-here shrubs I could take support from, oxygen enough for my not-too laboured breathing.<\/p>\n

I moved upwards at a steady enough pace.<\/p>\n

Ahead of me the peak. Always the peak. That’s where I had to get to. That was the challenge. There would be the conquest.<\/p>\n

I moved on upwards.<\/p>\n

Things began to change as I climbed on. The incline was steeper, the loose shale under my feet kept slipping and made the ascent more difficult, the oxygen seemed rarer, affecting my breathing.<\/p>\n

I wasn’t\u00a0all that confident\u00a0any more.<\/p>\n

I was having second thoughts about this urge of mine to climb the mountain.<\/p>\n

Perspiration dripping down my face soaking my clothes. Weary in body and spirit I looked up at the peak in the distance.<\/p>\n

That is when, ahead of me along the steep narrow path, I saw him again. The holy man seated placidly on a rock, waiting for me to come up to him.<\/p>\n

Somewhat breathless and quite exhausted, I arrived.<\/p>\n

It was a large rock. I sat down next to him wondering what he might have to say this time.<\/p>\n

He waited until the gentle pattern\u00a0of my own breathing matched his.<\/p>\n

“It isn\u2019t easy,” he said.<\/p>\n

I looked back down the slope that I had ascended. The valley was so far far away. Everything seemed so small from where we were. I turned around and looked ahead. Everything seemed so far up ahead. There was still so much to climb. And I was very tired.<\/p>\n

“Yes, it isn\u2019t easy,” I agreed.<\/p>\n

There was another period of silence.<\/p>\n

“There is more to the mountain than just the climb,” he said softly.<\/p>\n

I looked around me. A little up front from where we were sitting, the side of the mountain dropped into a lush green valley below. The lower levels played a quaint game of hide-and-seek through the patchwork mist that blanketed the valley. Across the valley was the shoulder of the next mountain. And beyond that there were others disappearing into the distant horizon. A yellow-orange sky backdrop-curtained the whole scene.<\/p>\n

I shut my eyes and breathed in the distances. Messenger breezes played gently on my cheeks. There was no need for words.<\/p>\n

The holy man was right. There was more to the mountain than just the climb.<\/p>\n

I turned my gaze to him. He was all still. His eyes closed as his face bathed in the peaceful afterglow of the setting sun. I\u00a0did not want to disturb him.<\/p>\n

I sat there for a little while longer, comforted and refreshed. Then I\u00a0got up\u00a0and moved on. There was luxuriant green on the mountain slopes, and splashes of coloured flowers everywhere.<\/p>\n

And the leaves danced to the silent tunes of the playful breezes.<\/p>\n

I was in no hurry now. The peak was up there ahead, true, but the mountain was all around me.<\/p>\n

I moved on. Slightly ahead of me, to the left of the now not tiresome path, I heard the clear-toned song of the mountain thrush.<\/p>\n

querry2@gmail.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Andrew,Connie, Geraldine\/Ian,\u00a0Julia, KarenM, Lisby, Marisa D, NanditaM, nishiD, Preethi, rigi, Shaziya, ShireenL, shobha, Zomie \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 photo montage : ruchi palan \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0INCOUNTERS \u2013 3 : THE MOUNTAIN It wasn\u2019t easy. All day long I had been toiling upwards. Behind me was so much that I had traversed. Ahead there seemed to be so … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Incounters 3 The Mountain!”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/terry-times.com\/book\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1062"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/terry-times.com\/book\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/terry-times.com\/book\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terry-times.com\/book\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terry-times.com\/book\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1062"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/terry-times.com\/book\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1062\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/terry-times.com\/book\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terry-times.com\/book\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/terry-times.com\/book\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}