The elders say that the path of the Spirit always leads upward which is why many people give up trying to follow it. The steady climb becomes tiresome, especially if you are carrying a lot of baggage. Anger, suspicion, envy, greed: they all weigh us down. Over time they make going up to the high country harder and harder. The only choice we have is to turn around and walk downward, stop and stay where we are, or keep making the slow climb to the distant sunlight on the mountain tops. To do that, we have to lighten our own load, letting go of what is heavy on our soul. Then the climb becomes easier and our step becomes lighter. By the time we clear the tree line, we are almost flying.

~ Steven Charleston

Autumn Sunset, Mountain Lake, Russian Wilderness – photo by PrimePhoto, bigstockphoto.com