The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires. - William Arthur Ward

InspirEmail

InspirEmail No 173 - January 18, 2010
'Inspirational messages to refresh the spirit and boost the emotional bank account'

I want to be a mountain

The year drew to a close. What would I accomplish in next?

I looked up at the mountains in the distance. They were white now. Not long ago, they were brown. In the eighteen months I've lived in Idaho, I've had the opportunity watch the cycle of seasons make their changes on these mountains that I never tire of seeing.

My first sight of them came in September of 2008. The sides of the mountains were painted green with the leaves of sage brush. The days moved on. The weather cooled and the rain didn't fall. The leaves browned. The mountain changed.

Fall gave way to winter. I stood in the rain and watched the top of the mountains turn a dazzling white. Each week the snow crept further down the slopes and long before the first snows fell in the valley, the mountains were covered with fresh powder. When the sun set, the lights on the ski slopes lit the side of the mountains a dazzling white at night. I'm not a skier, but I imagined the excitement of speeding down the side of those mountains – free, fast, and thrilled.

Winter turned to spring. The snow in the valley disappeared and made its retreat up the slopes until it was gone once again. As the weeks passed, the green in the valley flowed steadily up the slopes like a reversed waterfall. The mountains were as I first saw them, green and lush.

On this New Years Eve, the mountains are white again. On New Years Day they will be peppered with the dark dots of the distance skiers as they daringly fall down it's slopes.

I saw so many changes, but were they changes? The mountains are never changing. Like people, they only changed coats to fit the weather. They didn’t allow outside influences to alter what lie beneath their coats of changing colours. They were always the same. You could have faith in them.

I’m in my third season of life. A little snow is gathering at my peak. Some of the sage brush is gone all together. My clothing changed to fit my season. Next year and all my years to follow, I want to be as constant as a mountain. Although my looks will
change, I want to be reliable.

My body will change coats many times, but when my day is done, I want people to say, 'No matter what the seasons of life brought, he never changed inside. He never allowed the pressures of the seasons or the weathers of life to change what he was underneath. He was a mountain you could rely on to watch over those who looked up to him.'

For this New Year and all the New Years that I have left, whether it is at my job, at home, or with friends, I want to be a mountain.

Written by Michael T. Smith

Michael is a writer in his spare time, works as a project manager, and believes in sharing a smile, a wave, a kind word, and a tear. He lives with beautiful wife Ginny in Idaho and works as a project manager in telecommunications when he is not writing. His life experiences have given him a special heart that shows in his writing. His stories appear in newspapers, books: Chicken Soup, Thin Threads, Catholic Digest and online.

You can read more of his stories at . . . Michael T Smith's stories >>> and subscribe to his free Hearts and Humour newsletter at . . . Hearts and Humour >>>

January Featured Inspiration

Rules for a better way to live

Rule One ... for a better way to live

Count your blessings. Once you realize how valuable you are and how much you have going for you, the smiles will return, the sun will break out, the music will play . . . read more >>>

Inspiring Image

I trust you enjoy and value this inspirational image . . . Time waits for no one >>>

To view this image you may need to allow download of the file on your internet browser, once completed - allow up to 30 seconds for this image to download and open, please turn on your speakers to enjoy the music that goes with this image.

- Inspirational Quote -

Sooner or later we must realize there is no station, no one place to arrive at once and for all. The true joy of life is the trip
Robert J. Hastings

View more Inspirational Quotes >>>

Archived InspirEmail

Top of page