More Assaults Towards Mt. Gola

During the orientation, we were warned that the path towards Mt. Gola was steep, they even called it 'assault'. I was quite expectant of how steep it could be. We were given numbers in degrees but it just slipped my mind.

From Mt. Manalmon, we went down and began our journey to our next stop. I was sweating and breathing hard from the length of our trek. Every step we made was calculated and we tried our best to be mindful of our surroundings the best we could despite the tiredness that was falling upon us.

There were two little stores we stopped by before we continued on our walk. We rested for a while and had bathroom breaks. We did not miss the chance to try the all-natural buko juice from the heart of the mountain. It felt like our strength was renewed after a short rest and a sip of buko juice.

The best part for me was not the peak of Mt. Gols, it was the river we passed through that captivated me. The tiver was so clear and felt cold on our feet, which was exactly what we needed at those moments because of the sun's relenting strikes on our body. It was shallow and the current was not really that strong. I desired to bath on that part of the river, but it appeared to me that it was not part of the itinerary we signed up for. We moved on our trek and I decided to move on as well with that desire, but I still could not forget that portion of the river.

After we had been to so many slopes going up to the peak of Mt. Gola, my feet and knees were aching a bit, and I had this urge to get on the top of Mt. Gola as soon as possible to relieve my agony and exhaustion. I wanted it done, finished. Yet, I was well aware that reaching the peak was not that easy, so I had no choice but to continue my journey and never let my frustration get the best of me. I switched from fast to slow pacing and from slow to fast pacing. I was trying my best to enjoy and be thankful for what I have in those moments: my life, nature, my friends who were with me during that hike, my family who were safe at home, all of God's provisions and promises, and of course the greatest gift of all, God, Himself.

Life is not an easy hike. We get to face more assaults than we expect to. We may get tired and think we had enough of life. And sometimes we have these selfish thoughts: God does not care about me anymore. He wants to make me suffer. He does not want me to be happy. And I tell you that is very wrong, sometimes we make our own problem and assault the life God has given us to enjoy. I had my fair share of wrong decisions I made in my life, some were influenced by the people who hurt me. I want to break the cycle and make the most out of the life that God has given me. Be freed from the judgment of the so-called human race. I don't want to be assaulted by anyone or even by myself. I will not run away, instead, I will fly and never let others assault my spirit again, all by God's grace. Others may try to break me because I don't conform to their standards, but I pray that God will always let me fly high. Up, up in the sky.