There’s a lot you can find on a mountaintop

There’s a lot you can find on a mountaintop.

There are the trees and the clouds and the Pacific Ocean.

The rocks and the more difficult trails people attempt and the old military bunkers.

Then there are the tourists and the locals and their cute dogs.

And when the dust finally settles, there’s the silence. And for a second it reminds you of the silence you felt when he left you. But as you inhale this silence through your nose, your mouth, and each of your pores, and you take a deep breath, close your eyes and when you flutter them open you are left with:

Peace.

Love.

Beauty.

Forgiveness.

For the first time, he is not the one you wish you were with. For the first time, in years even, you are content with the friend you are hiking with, or at ease with the fact that you are by yourself, or even hopeful that one day you can share this mountaintop with a new love.

There’s a lot you can find on a mountaintop.

Like a cool salty breeze that whips your hair in your face. And for a second, you are reminded of the wind being knocked out of you when he said he no longer wanted you. But that empty feeling that you got so used to is finally beginning to fade. Instead, you take a deep breath and inhale this breeze and let it fill your insides because you made it to the top.

You’ve triumphed another mountaintop.

There’s a lot you can find on a mountaintop.

Standing there, you find your footing for the first time in a long time. You accept that you are alone, but not really because you have so many friends and family who love you more than life itself. You embrace the realization of being so small in this big and beautiful world. You take your worries, you recount the memories and the laughs and the tears, the beginning and the end, and you find your balance.

And by attempting to go on at least one hike per week, you’ve realized that the most important thing you can find on these mountaintops is yourself.

No, you are not complete yet. You are still full of flaws and scarred with pain.

But that’s the thing. Those open wounds that were raw just six months ago are finally healing. They are becoming scars with their own stories and lessons, and for that you are grateful.

You still have a long way to go.

With each step on this steep incline, you become more out of breath and giving up might seem the most appealing.

But with each switchback, you face something new and beautiful. Like that view overlooking the east side of Oahu, where all the homes look like tiny little Lego pieces.

Or that whale breaching its back on the North Shore far behind the massive shore break.

So keep pushing and keep learning and keep growing, because there’s a lot you can find on a mountaintop.