Dreaming Ahead

 

I have been often asked, what exactly I do in between my climbs. Those periods of lull when I am neither going up or coming down snow covered slopes in some godforsaken corner of the planet upon a mountain that no one has ever heard of.

 

My stock answer to that would be nothing much in particular, just my usual. In this post let’s look at what’s my ‘usual’.

 

Superficially whatever I might be engaged in, internally I am always living in the moment, dreaming and focusing upon what I consider essential for my existence and having fun. These are my fundamental mantra for living that I apply pretty much every day, each moment. Over and above I could be climbing a mountain, traveling around the world, conducting a happiness workshop, lecturing at Harvard, writing, appearing on a TV show, serenading vogue cover model, chasing the bad guys, dancing in a music video, boating down the Amazon in search of anacondas, abseiling down a volcano, taking a leap of faith literally from a black ops helicopter over hostile territory, negotiating with Somalian kidnappers or just enjoying some delectable street food in the back streets of Baghdad.

 

The year has started, marching ahead in full gallop, not bothering about what we humans are up to, if anything at all. Abominable as it may appear, almost a week now I have been down into the horizontal planes of northern India. The palpable pollution, concrete jungle, utter chaos and cacophony has had its toll on my constitution. With a hint of sniffling nose, hoarse throat, occasional cough and a general sense of low energy (all effects of pollution) I am keeping my head out of the water by dreaming ahead what 2023 might have in store for me.

 

This month I would be in a social trip through few big bad cities in India, calling upon friends I haven’t met for ages or recently met. This would obviously entail being fed food as with Indian hospitality. All these friends and their spouses are culinary experts, so my belly is up to some challenges. I intend putting on some weight as the end of 2022 saw me nearly 6kg underweight. I need the weight to get back to ice climbing from next month onward. This winter I also intend climbing odd peaks here and there Alpine style. Followed by global gallivanting. There are vague ideas and itineraries but nothing definite. For dreams are fuzzy at the best and that’s the best thing about dreaming. If you don’t dream they will never come true, and because they are fuzzy, when they do come true you end up believing that that’s exactly what you had dreamt about. And when they don’t come true, you don’t remember if you dreamt them at all.

 

When nothing seemingly exciting or great is happening in your life, it is important to dream of what is exciting and great to you personally. Dreams give us hope and a sense of purpose, a motivation to keep our spirits high and options open, to swim against tides, to persevere uphill, and to never quit. When we are not taking action, we are getting ready to take action. I am not climbing but I am getting ready to climb for I would climb surely soon enough.

 

Dreaming ahead 2023 or my entire life, whatever of it is still left to be lived, I am always here wherever I am, deep within my heart and mind, always asking myself if this is where I wish to be and if this is the best that I am capable of. I do not wish to climb a summit that I can reach. I wish to climb a summit that I can progressively get closer to but never ascend. That keeps my journey never ending and promising.

 

So my friends, don’t fret where you find yourself today or at this moment, keep on dreaming, keep on climbing and keep on hoping. Discard all negative emotions embracing the positive. Life is life, it has its own path and prejudice, it’s up to us how we react to its pernicious path. Keep your glass always half full and never lose sight of your summit, even if you do reach it. There’s always another one beyond your reach just yet.

 

Keep moving, keep dreaming, keep hoping.