Kola started climbing from his school days.
The approving glances of the teachers cast on well-behaved or intelligent students, and the smiles his parents bestowed on his siblings for doing well, led him to it. He sought to reach the same place and exceed.
He didn’t reach it in the university, but he tried. Kola did everything the lecturers said, reading all night, sitting for every test. A first-class result, yes, but he still didn’t reach the mark. He aspired to lead in all areas.
The climbing continued when he got his first job. His certificate seemed like a curse; office politics trumped the piece of paper. His managers disdained him because the C.E.O picked him out. Kola continued to scale the rock, trying to manage his work life, for the C.E.O on the one hand, and the managers on the other.
He kept scrambling up through weather changes, from hot to cold, and through the rain. Sometimes, he would reach a milestone and think he succeeded, only to look up, and still see no end. Kola kept at, though the pressures of life beat at him, and the people on the ground called to him, to give up. He would hear voices in the wind, some encouraging, others discouraging, but still, he kept scaling up.
Sometimes, all he heard was the wind, a soft breeze threatening to lull him to sleep, or a windstorm advancing to blow him off course. Kola bore it all. The smile on his boss’s face when he handed over Kola’s promotion letter; the hug from his wife as he handed her the keys to the new Benz; the children’s joyous cries when he met their needs all helped.
He wanted to stop climbing many times. Kola would look up, and down, and feel like he had gotten nowhere. During those weary times, he would stay on a boulder and rest, with every part of his body revolting against him. In his despair, he would look up, not to the rest his soul needed, but to the top of the mountain, and wonder when he would find peace.
The rocks cut his body as he climbed, but after a while, he got used to it. The sweat covered his eyes, making it difficult to climb, but he grew accustomed to climbing blind. He would often grasp grass instead of rock and fall, but he learned how to pick himself up, to climb back up again. No matter how bad the air pressure, he acclimatized.
Kola suffered from Hypoxia, but how would he have known? Most of us don’t know when we suffer from our lifestyles. Climbing for Kola proved difficult after a while. He suffered from a lack of appetite often and chugged it up to old age. Later, migraines, distorted vision, and fatigue became the norm, all attributed to growing old.
He founded his startup at 60. Advised to retire from full-time work, Kola didn’t listen; he still had not attained the height he wanted. He would get up early, disregarding the doctor’s orders and return home late, his business needed to succeed, and he alone could ensure it did.
One day he was at the office, and the next, six-feet under a plaque, which described him as the climber. To family and friends, that was what the man achieved.
Kola sat up, his body at rest. It seemed odd to him, and he couldn’t remember the last time he experienced such a thing. He looked around, at the green pastures, and the still waters. He felt peace as he walked the quiet path, a soft wind in his face, and birds chirping above him, making him smile. Here, he thought, there is no fear, no worries, and the pain can be endured. An encompassing feeling of rest engulfed him, and the truth hit him. It felt like a physical blow; Kola’s knees hit the ground. This was it, the summit.
With the truth came agony from a painful fact. Kola still didn’t make it.
Till next time, be transformed!!
Transformation Place 