I Want To Be A Selfless Climber

       Our lives are incredibly fast-paced these days. We have so many things that we tell ourselves we must do everyday.  The Narrator in Zen understands this and he believes many people go through life like ego-filled mountain climbers. This kind of person will miss the little things in life like "a beautiful passage of sunlight through the trees," and "rejects the here, is unhappy with it." An ego-climber is always looking ahead instead of experiencing and taking joy in his surroundings.  (p. 267) 
       In contrast, the Narrator believes that, "Mountains should be climbed with as little effort as possible and without desire...You climb the mountain in an equilibrium between restlessness and exhaustion...To live only for some future goal is shallow." (p. 258) Instead of being ego-filled mountain climbers, we should be self-less climbers, aware of what is happening around us and enjoying the moment.
     I was inspired by this idea of becoming a self-less climber. As a musician, I have often found that the final performance of a piece is not as fulfilling as all the time it I spend learning it. I go on a journey with each piece, and each one has its moments of beauty. I love the thrill of learning it, of slowly developing the melody and prhasing, of understanding the emotions I can build into it, and of learning the dynamics. I want to perform well, but the ultimate performance is only a small step in the journey. 
     I disagree with the Narrator about some of his climbing ideas, though. He says, "The reality of your own nature should determine the speed. If you become restless, speed up. If you become winded, slow down." (p. 258) Runners often grow tired at the end of races. That doesn't mean they stop running. I have three weeks left of school and I am tired, but that doesn't mean I can slow down. I have to take responsibility. People cannot go through life just acting on whether or not they feel tired or energized. 
      Even more importantly, what would life be like without goals? To live for some future goal is not shallow, is it? Aren't goals what keep us going? I have so many goals for my music and in school. I have to ask myself, though, "Are those the right goals to have?" The goal I should have is to develop my relationships with God, my family, and my friends. My schoolwork and music are important, but if I do not focus on the right things, I will become an ego-climber.
     This is exactly what I think the Narrator is saying. We should have goals, but they need to be the right  ones. We may become tired, but we can keep going. The way to become a selfless climber is to focus on what is here, because there will never be another time like now.   

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Two Poems, & A Few Thoughts

The Swan Did you too see it, drifting, all night, on the black river? Did you see it in the morning, rising into the silvery air - An armful of white blossoms, A perfect commotion of silk and linen as it leaned into the bondage of its wings: a snowbank, a bank of lilies, Biting the air with its black beak? Did you hear it, fluting and whistling A shrill dark music - like the rain pelting the trees - like a waterfall Knifing down the black ledges? And did you see it, finally, just under the clouds - A white cross Streaming across the skyt, its feet Like black leaves, its wings Like the stretching light of the river? And did you feel it, in your heart, how it pertained to everything? And have you too finally figured out what beauty is for? And have you changed your life? Explication of Mary Oliver’s poem “The Swan” This poem dramatizes the speaker’s memory of seeing swan and being struck by its beauty. Using metaphors and similes, the author recreat
Read more

Means Less

I hate Lyme disease. I hate that I will feel great for a few days and then have a day like today where all I want is to hold my head and make people stop asking speaking because it's just so confusing and I don't understand, or can't quite think of the words I want to say. I hate that I don't want to go up the stairs because it's tiring, and I am so fatigued after hours and hours of sleeping. I hate the sense of loss that holds on to me and reminds me of all the things I'm missing out on. I hate trying to build a community when every other week I feel sick and tired and grouchy. I hate how long distance my life has become, with all the people I love scattered across the world. I hate how careful I have to be about sleep. If I don't get enough sleep, my symptoms are worse. When my symptoms are worse, I don't really want to be social. I just want everyone to stop talking and drink tea. Not exactly conducive behavior for making friends. It's
Read more

Current

I grew up beside a river.  Every morning I woke up to its silent current running past my house. It was always there, shaping my days with its seasons and storms. Every year, it dropped during dry season, and tall, sharp, grass grew up along the banks in bright green swaths. Every year, the river rose again, and sometime during the winter break I might wake up to find that huge grass islands had been cut free by the current and were being gently carried past my house. It was silent, yes, but oh so powerful.  My favorite way to end the day was to dive off the dock at sunset and float until the stars came out. I knew how to lay in the calm backwater, where the current would not get me, but most of the time I let the current take me downriver. I enjoyed the letting go, the way nothing was required of me but to rest and let the current carry me.  My sister-in-law Hayden died on Tuesday. Writing this sentence does not feel real in any way. THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN, I keep saying t
Read more