THE MOUNTAIN AND THE CROSS

Deep in the heart of the Dolomites,
climbing a slope pointed heavenward,
– our lungs screaming out to any god who might be up there –
we found a cross,
– another conduit to the unseen world,
and an excuse to stop our march.

On the cross,
an inscription,
– a tribute –
to a dreamer.

‘Chi più in alto sale,
più lontano vede.
Chi più lontano vede,
più a lungo sogna.’  

‘The higher he climbs,
the further he sees.
The further he sees,
the longer he dreams’

This tiny cross,
to this single life,
amidst this vast landscape.

Rocks,
trees,
soil,
and sky,
patient witnesses,
to every dream,
from all before,
and all to follow. 

In that moment,
– beneath the mountain,
above the cross –
I was reminded,
of both our insignificance,
and our impermanence.

A realisation that every decision,
bears both the weight of the cross,
and the mountain.
Every decision is absolute,
and yet immaterial. 

The only wrong decision therefore,
– and my scars can attest –
is no decision.  

Paralysis,
a most unnatural state,
in a natural world,
always in spate.

In my everyday life,
– and I fancy I am not alone with this –
I can too readily forget the message of the mountain,
and focus solely on the counsel of cross.

Like a toddler,
every doubt,
and desire,
angst,
and ache,
can feel so grand,
they ground me.

Yet, as a wise friend reminded me recently,
‘we are all just making it up.’
All just doing our best to march heavenwards,
in this narrow blink, 
before we too are a cross on the mountainside.

This dancing pair,
– of the mountain,
and the cross –
– of insignificance,
and impermanence –
feels like a wonderful invitation,
to take a step, 
and to do so bravely.

To hold it a little lighter,
and to dream a little longer.

I wonder then,
is there a dream that you are harbouring?
Is there a step you can take towards it?