Friday, January 22, 2010

its the climb!

As I was sorting out my files, I chanced upon this old video of our climb in Mt. Maculot, Cuenca, Batangas and I thought of sharing it with you.

Maculot escapade from Donna Manlangit on Vimeo.


mountain of fears to conquer

3 April 2006
Friendster blog entry

at last.. summer vacation is here! after months of gruelling statistical torture, i’m finally free to go out and enjoy the sun. and that’s exactly what i did last weekend.. i wasn’t ready for the climb in Mt. Maculot, Batangas. mind you, im not a professional mountaineer. i just love the outdoors and i’ve gotten nauseated with the dirty fumes i continually inhale here in the metro. so, i really needed a weekend getaway.. when my roommate and her co-workers from GK Bagong Silang invited me to climb with them, i didn’t hesitate to do so..

we started early, around 5am we were already at the foot of the mountain. it was exhilarating just staring at the clear sky with the twinkling stars up above. but we still had a long day ahead of us. the trail was a 3-hour trek up to the peak and after 3 stations on the way, i was already exhausted.

it gave me a lot of time to think. do i have to go through all these? what motivates people to endure this kind of exhaustion? how far is it to the top? what’s waiting for me out there? can i just give up altogether and wait for my friends instead of continuing the climb? i was all ready to quit. i can’t endure it anymore. but as i look at my companions, huffing and puffing their way up to the top. i felt a surge of energy which came with a challenge - if they can do it, then why can’t I. after hours of trekking and picture takings, we finally reached the top - and woah!!! nothing prepared me for the beauty of the sight - with the serene waters of Taal Lake at the backdrop. it was all worth it.. the calloused hands, the blistered feet, the bruises and the cuts - it was all worth it! i’d go through it again if I have to..

this experience taught me a lot of lessons:
1. Life is a journey. Its not an easy trail - it has its ups and downs. We may not even know where we are going, but one thing’s for sure - something wonderful awaits us at the end of the journey. something way beyond our dreams and we won’t be able to enjoy its whole grandeur it if we don’t finish the journey. there are no shortcuts. each trail, each mistake, each fall, each step would bring us closer to our final destination. we just have to stay focused and keep the faith as we continually hope for the fulfillment of our journey.

2. We are not alone. Although this is an individual journey, we have other people journeying with us. they are there to help us up when we fall, to encourage us to go on, to make us smile or even to make the journey difficult for us. whatever their purpose, they are there for a reason. different people. different reasons. but one purpose.. to reach the top!

3. There is no one trail. there were lots of trails. some climbers even got lost coz they took the wrong turn. that’s the importance of focus. its so easy to get lost and one may not even know that s/he is already lost. it takes a strong sense of direction and vigilance to stay in the right track. do not be complacent and assume otherwise. but one good thing about this is once we’ve realized our mistake, we can always go back, retrace our steps and find the right trail. we might consume a lot of time and extra effort, but everything is worth it once we get to the top. its better to go through all these than continue with the wrong trail and arrive at a miserable dead end.

4. As we started the journey, we had lots of fears.. what if we fall, what if we get lost, what if we collapse due to sheer exhaustion.. so many what ifs, so many fears.. but if we gave in to those fears, we might have missed the precious reward that awaits us at the top. it takes a firm belief in your strengths, trust in your companions, passion in your pursuits and faith in the One who made you for you to finish the race..

at the end of it all, we can proudly say.. its not the mountain that we conquered.. its ourselves!!!

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