Lessons from Mont Royal

      Hello my friends, sorry about the long absence.  I have had the opportunity to do a lot of traveling this fall, but have not quite figured out how to post from the road.  I have a huge stack of clippings, notes and pictures for future sharing. Our first destination is Montreal, Canada.
      One of my first lightbulb moments was walking up Mont Royal.  Now, I'm pretty sure that at 764 feet is is a hill, not a mountain at all, but walking up, it felt like mountain enough for me.  One of the first things that I noticed was the beautiful stone works and steps.  There were beautiful cobblestone gutters to divert the rain, steps to preserve the hillside and a gravel road for the cars.  Many people were using the rockworks for their daily run and, of course, there were those of us who were strolling.  It was lovely and friendly.
       When I looked more closely at the gutters, it sparked an interesting thought.  All of this work to funnel the rainwater was an effective means of preventing erosion. It reminded me of how the mind works. There are mental paths that I take to create supper, clean house, work with clients, deal with unpleasant memories.  All of them working to make daily life a bit smoother and easier on me.  Some of them are carefully crafted and work well; others, not so much...

        I like the ease of going to the fridge, seeing what's inside and crafting a meal.  I like to turn on a good book on tape and cleaning the heck out of a room.  I love to work with clients.  This dealing with the past thing could use improvement.
       I see life as a work in progress, always striving to use my talents better and shed the attitudes and ideas that no longer serve me.  This fall  has felt like a struggle against negative traits, while all along the observer in my mind has been saying "those are gifts."
      Back to my 'mountain.'  As I got closer to the top, the carefully crafted channels went from cobblestone to rough rocks to completely non- existent.  The path was actually eroding.  It reminded me of the areas in my life that need more work.

   We create this careful crafted day that serves us for a time, but then the kids go off to school, the house changes, the business focus shifts and life needs to be reshaped to fit.  At first it is daunting and seems to take forever with all sorts of little things that used to be great slipping away.  And the bits that you dislike become more prominent, capturing attention.  Seriously, I've been working this long and here is where I am?
      In that moment of irritation is the possibility of great change.  The revelation of the road.   As I walk this road I am continually surprised by what I believe deep down and how changeable these deep beliefs are.  Now, I did not say it was easy, but really, who knew?  Now is time to dig the rain gutters higher up in the mountain.
   
Author's note:What is interesting about this post is how the pictures look completely different in this post than when they were originally full screen. If I were presented just these pictures, the story I would write is very different.  Also, I wrote the post a month ans a half ago. As I transcribe from my notebook, it feels wrong (or perhaps, inauthentic) because I have moved to a completely different place in the intervening time.  It's a bit hard to post, but still feels authentic to where I was... It's something I have noticed in all of my journals and in reviewing this blog.  There are moments of truth I love to relive, nuggets of wisdom that I have forgotten and the bewilderment that I ever thought that way.  I guess it's how you measure growth.  Hope you enjoy, Pam