Recently, I went hiking with my mom and my uncle who had just undergone knee surgery. I had no idea how out of shape I was until I began to see them accelerating ahead while I was huffing and puffing behind them. As we were hiking I was thinking of how much I was struggling.
I was sweating and breathing heavy. It was extremely hot, but I kept going. I began to tell myself that the hike was worth it. The view from the top would be amazing. As I began thinking this, I was reminded of a dream I had recently.
In the dream, I was at my school, Montclair State University. I was at the bottom of a mountain on campus, sitting at a table with my friends, when I felt a pebble hit me. All of a sudden, more pebbles started falling and I heard people screaming. Dirt and rocks began falling so quickly that it rose to my neck. I knew I had to start trying to fight my way to the top or else I would be consumed by the dirt. I began moving my legs to push myself up but I was already surrounded by the dirt. My body felt so weak. I could barely move. I began to move my arms and my legs trying to free myself. I began to scream “Jesus, help me! Help me get out of here!” I was still struggling but I kept looking up and fighting to keep my head up. As the dirt was rising, I got to the edge of the mountain and pulled myself up. Once I got on the top of the mountain, out of the dirt, I realized that I was the only one up there and everyone was safe at the bottom.
I woke up from this dream feeling very confused. I usually never have dreams that detailed. The thing that confused me was the overwhelming feeling that the dream meant something more than me just surviving a weird and random avalanche.
As I began reviewing the dream in my head, I realized that throughout the entire dream, I never looked around me. When the avalanche started I heard people screaming but I never looked around. I simply went into action mode. As I was fighting to get out of the dirt I was looking up.
The entire dream I was looking up.
It was when I got to the top of the mountain that I looked around and down to see where I had come from.
When I am hiking I am constantly thinking of my destination. When I was at the bottom of the mountain, I would look up to see how far I had to go until I reached my destination.
After this recent hiking experience and this dream, I have come to the conclusion that I am always looking up towards something greater.
This life brings many challenges, mountains, hills, dirt, road blocks and obstacles that make it harder for us to achieve our goals and get to our destination. Life is hard sometimes.
What I am learning in this phase of my life is that sometimes you have to say "screw it." This mountain looks pretty high. I am getting pretty tired and my muscles are getting sore. But that view will be so beautiful.
This dirt is surrounding me… I can barely move... but I am going to keep my head above the dirt and keep fighting.
In the dream I screamed for help. I knew that I couldn’t do it on my own.
As a college student and young adult, I find myself asking many questions. “Where am I going?” “How am I going to get there?” “Is that realistic?” “Can I actually accomplish this?”
It absolutely terrifies me that I don’t have all of the answers. I would love to know exactly how my life is going to turn out and how to get to where I need to go. That, unfortunately, is not how life works. There are going to be obstacles and unexpected challenges.
What I am sure of, is that I have dreams. I know that I want to be happy. I want to love and be loved. I want to help people. These are the things I hold on to.
The unknown is scary. The mountain that you have never climbed before looks very intimidating at the bottom. But I have seen the pictures taken from the top. That is where I want to be.
My friends, it is ok to be intimidated by the mountain. I implore you today to take a step towards your mountain. Do not be anxious over potential obstacles. Keep your head above the dirt and keep climbing your mountains. Think of the view. The view is worth it. Keep looking up.
