Be on the Mountain

In February,

I had an epiphany.

I was sitting in Starbucks.

Writing.

Thinking.

Writing about life.

I wrote forty-seven pages about my life.

One theme recurred frequently throughout those pages.
It's what Rob Bell refers to as 'being on the mountain'.
If you don't know Rob Bell, then Google him.
He's a hip, cool, Christian guy with whom you would like have coffee.

I am not particularly religious, but I enjoy his perspective.

He tells a story about Moses' journey to the top of a mountain.
I will omit most of the religious and historical details for the sake of attenuation.
(And those details are not relevant to the moral of this story.)

In the story, God tells Moses to travel to the top of the mountain.
Then, in what is a seemingly redundant (and odd) request,
God commands Moses to 'be on the mountain'.
To which, I imagine, Moses was like, 'um, yeah, I heard you once.'
But he didn't get the point right away.
Don't just go to the top of the mountain, then start thinking about what you need to do next.
Don't start worrying about how you are going to get down,
Don't worry about if you turned off the lights before you left the house,
Don't spend your time in perpetual planning.
Or perpetual worry.
Or perpetual whatever.

Instead, enjoy the moment.
Notice what all of your hard work has done for you.
It got you to the top of the mountain, after all.
Just take a moment and be on the mountain.
Be on the mountain.
Be.

That's what I want.
I am committed to being on the mountain.

That doesn't mean I don't plan.
I just enjoy the planning process more.

It doesn't mean I don't work hard.
I just enjoy working hard.
When you enjoy it, it's not work anyway.
In fact, I avoid calling it work.

How about when you are doing something you dislike?
Or worse: something you hate?
Ask yourself,
How can I do this and enjoy it too?
I firmly believe that the only way to get a better answer,
Is to ask a better quality question.

So ask yourself, how can I enjoy this?
I get better results when doing this.
I get better results when I enjoy the process.
Better health.
Better relationships.
More growth.
Greater contribution.
A better life.

Don't dwell on the past.
Don't worry about the future.
Just be on the mountain.

Yours,

Joshua