The Mountain Trail

Peter and the Art of the Direct Path

I suggested going up a mountain and spending the night at a cabin.

The response came immediately: “I hate sleeping on mattresses.”

That wasn't the first time.

In recent years, I've learned that some people don't welcome an adventure with open arms. They meet it with questions. With resistance. With an astonishing number of arguments against it.

I used to think that was rejection. Now I believe something else.

I think some people head straight for the mountain. They want to see the trail. Know the elevation gain. Check the weather forecast. They ask questions, not because they don’t want to come along, but because they’re already on their way—just in their own way.

What looks like resistance from the outside is sometimes guidance. What looks like skepticism is sometimes concern. What sounds like a " no " is sometimes the beginning of a " yes."

I've noticed that Peter approaches every adventure as if it were a mountain. Head-on. Straightforward. With both feet firmly on the ground.

First comes resistance. Then the questions. Then the research. Then the planning.

And then one day, he's standing in front of me with a mountain guidebook in his hand, excitedly showing me a route I would never have found on my own!

Today I know this: The mountain trail looks different from my path. But it often leads to the same summit.