Listening to my Calm app this morning reminded me of a story I wrote a long time ago, called "Being the Mountain". The mountain image resonates with me because of its  just there-ness. No matter what befalls the mountain, it is there. It stands tall yet rooted, weathering all storms.

Sometimes, when I become uncentered, I imagine I'm being the mountain of my memory up in Peaceful Valley, CO, where I've done many trainings with my friend, mentor, and author of many books on the subject of being centered, Thomas Crum.  

(BTW, check out the AikiWorks website for Tom's upcoming Magic of Skiing week in Aspen in early 2025.)

Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy the story, and that it helps you find your mountain. 

Being the Mountain

As I hike up the mountain path back in Peaceful Valley, I relish the quiet of my early morning solitude and anticipate the inspiring view that awaits me.

I stare at the 14,000-foot peaks, open my arms and breathe in the energy, power, beauty and peace of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. I contrast their stability and their "just there-ness" with my own approval-seeking energy, their effortless poise with my striving to do the "right" thing, and their natural and graceful essence with my desire to appear knowledgeable and beautiful and centered.

And I ask: Could I ever, possibly, just BE? Like the mountain? There.

I'm practicing letting the mountain be my teacher, holding the idea of Mountain in my body, my posture, and my sensibility. 

Each time I find myself in striving or approval-seeking mode, I stop, breathe, and remember the mountain. And then, I find The Mountain.

Each time, my stance relaxes, my mind clears, my being rests. It's as if I had been leaning forward - out of myself - seeking someone or something to make me okay. As I become the mountain, I return to a place where I am already okay.

Is there a place, a person, a sound, or a thought that helps you return to the Mountain – where your needs are met and you're perfect just the way you are. Find it now – in your office, in your home, in your cubicle. Bring your mountain back. And enjoy the view.

If you like the story, you can listen to it (and many others( on my CD, Simple Gifts: Making the Most of Life's Ki Moments, available on Amazon as CD or download.

Good ki!