OH Mountain How I Did I Get Here...

Here I stand alone upon a mountain top,
My trials and fears no one will ever know.
I have struggled beyond my wildest dreams,
The darkness like a river continued to flow.

My ignorance, my weaknesses and even my insecurities,
were what walked me down this path.
It was my lack of attention that brought this mountains wrath.
And now that the storm is over and the winds have died down,
I look out over this mountain top and cannot wear a frown.

For a brief moment I look out at the serene beauty of the valley below
In my mind I remember; but my fear I do not show.
For my emotions took me through a dark place, and my weaknesses I did pack.
Through life changing chasms and cliffs I did face.
My fears I did overcome; my weaknesses I did attack

I do not know how I got here, this mountain was not on the map!
This was not my destination, nor part of my plan.
This Mountain just showed up as a challenge to where I stand.
Nor friend nor enemy was this mountain was to me!
Just another chance to witness God’s grace that he wants me to see.

Many days I've traveled and now here I stand,
It is a beautiful place but not what I understood of God’s plan.
I know this is not my destination, so my journey is not over.
There are many miles to go through valleys of flowers and fields of clover.

The mountains are high and the valleys are low,
The crimson fields in front of me are where I must go
I speak to the mountain and I say why did you hide
The mountain spoke back in loud rumbling roar
Nor trick or surprise did I bring to you, with the eagles you did not soar,

Pride and ignorance is the undoing of us all
As you were climbing up my sides I awaited your fall.
Your strength and courage you surely did find
Now mastering your lessons will be the test of time!

For love and courage is not all that you need,
But a strong back, a strong will, and the desire to succeed.
Knowing what to do will not let you plead,
But your actions over time will show you how to lead.
So push on do not linger you must continue for what you seek.
I was not your goal, so let your travels take you afar.
A relationship drives your journey so keep your eyes on the stars.

The pain and anguish my heart swept away, as this mountain explained that I was not here to stay
So I took one last look from this very high peak,
After I caught my breathe I grabbed my flag to create a memorial,
It was not this mountain but a relationship that I did seek.

I plant it firmly in the rock and the mountains rich soil.
My soul is refreshed and I have forgotten my pain and toil.
As I place this flag in remembrance of my challenges, I look down into the new valley below.
All I see is her face, her smile and how our future will grow!
I love her and her son as if they were my very own.
My love is not in vain, and my commitment now in stone!
Upon the mountain top I stand firm with a chart in my hand,
My dreams are wide, and my visions are grand.
For it is a woman that I love and a family that I have made
That pushes me on to victory and to take on my fears.
It is her love that motivates me and dries up my tears.

look at my flag as it reaches out of the soil,
I remind myself of the things I did learn, of the things I did toil,
And one last time I linger and take one last look at my map
The mountain speaks to me yet again, "what are you doing now?"

I have learned a great lesson that I do not want to repeat.
I have plotted carefully so that I know where you are and have tracked my feet!
So that I do not make this mistake again or tempt life I do not dare.
Surviving a visit with an unseen mountain was not just a great feat,
But a life lesson that I will want to share.

I replied as I started to make my way down the other side…

Today She Believes In Your Dream!

Have you ever noticed that people seem to change their minds? Well in relationships they do as well. What is funny is that at any given moment we have some idea of what would like to accomplish or some set of goals written or otherwise that we would like to see happen over a period of time. When we are dating we are confronted with our dreams and goals as our new potential companions are very concerned with them.

As we build up our dreams and start to flesh them out we vocalize them over and over. Eventually someone grabs a hold of it and claims that it too is their dream. So like most people you two start to build a foundation for what will become a committed relationship and ultimately a new marriage. Hopefully as you go forward you two do not lose sight of what brought you together in the first place. Having a common dream and vision is important to long term success.

Interestingly enough people evolve or change quicker than many long term goals can be accomplished so what happens is as the two in the relationship change their individual goals chance as well. The overall goal isn’t being communicated or checked regularly to ensure that this new “couple” is on target for reaching their cooperative goals and dreams.

Over time the personal dreams gets stronger and stronger, as the overall dream gets weaker and weaker. No one checks to see if the milestones of the overall dream are being accomplished in a timely manner or that new obstacles have been brought out of the way to allow for success. More important is that not only has the communication of the overall dreams, steps to be taken and new obstacles that need to be overcome has stopped but there has never been any communication on the new personal dreams being built inside of the individuals in the couple.

Typically one will stay true to the dream but the other will be now secretly building their own dream with is never communicated so it is separate from the collective dream and therefore separate from the committed union. This rogue dream is not building steam where the collective dream has all but died. “It is for the lack of a dream that my people perish.” Now replacing the collective dream the secret dream now gains steam and momentum and overtakes the individual that has entertained its fancy.

Simply put this individual is now at odds with the collective dream either actively or passively but is now seeking to find ways to implement their own new dream. This divisiveness undermines the foundation or what the original union was based on. Now not having a foundation to stand on the union is in jeopardy.

Typically this will not come out in steps. It will boil and fester inside of the individual until it becomes overwhelming to the one that has lost the collective dream and either in the middle of a fight or disagreement or just as a stand along conversation confronts the other. This confrontation is typically a blame session where they are at fault for the new dream not getting accomplished. Sadly the one being accused of holding the one back was not even aware that there was a new dream at all!

Typically this is the first time this new desire has been brought up and being shocked and hurt the individual doesn’t know how to respond. In fact they typically respond poorly and things go downhill from there.   This quick degradation of the relationship typically ends with the destruction of the union. Ultimately the one that has come up with a new dream feels like they are alone and cannot ask the other to change.

Why? What would be the harm of open communication along the way? What could happen if when the seed was planted that it wasn’t communicated early on in its development? Is it because we do not communicate enough with the ones we love? Or is it more insidious that we are not listening? Is someone at fault or is it a draw?

Who originated the original collective dream? Was it one’s dream that was forced onto the other? Or was it truly a collective dream that both parties were bought into it and committed to see come to fruition? When a dream is “owned” by one there is a high likely hood that the union will fail. When the dream is truly co-operative there is still not guarantee that the union will hold together without constant communication and evaluation of what steps lie ahead and who has ownership of the individual components.

The problem with dreams is that most times there is a level of sacrifice that has to be made to execute the tasks tactically to allow for success of each successive level. Even the most well laid out plans will fail when the “owners” or those “tasked” are not 100% sold on the collective dream. Dreams are like living creatures their health is reflected by the collective mental health of those that are carrying out its tasks.

When the health of the dream suffers it is due to the lack of nurturing of those that are the carriers of the dream. Dream survival and success relies heavily on the participants keeping strong lines of communication open between all of the individuals. When some or all of the participants are silent about their fears and concerns the group or team becomes weakened.

So after the collective dream fades and the new secret dream takes over the heart and soul of the one harboring the new dream everything changes. Now things that were exciting and fun now become dreary and points of contention. Now what brought the group together will now ultimately destroy them.

I do not know the answers to the many questions that come from this phenomenon, but I have lived through its destruction. So as a leader of the dream one must champion every chance you get and maintain the excitement that is deposited in all of the participant’s hearts and soul this is the sign of a true leader! 

Best of luck to your dream and those that you get to believe in it!