Dear Friend: I trust you are having a day of optimism as you take one step at a time up the mountain before you; the one that becomes a little steeper on this part of your journey. There are of course alternatives to traveling forward: you might consider taking a stance and resting for a while, you might consider retreating down the mountain and looking for a different path, you might also consider that at - "First there is a mountain, then there is no mountain, then there is." Does it have a name? Does it have a purpose? Perhaps an alternative to this geography is preferable? Given the choice would you choose an infinite plane with no variation - a flat or level surface or a level of existence that remains unchanged and unchanging? There is always choice. There will always be mountains. Do the mountains choose us or we do choose them? I am not sure. I can say that I too climb mountains. I can say that I have not yet met a person who is not given the choice to climb. I see that at some point we are all on a mountain of one sort or another. I see that together we climb, struggle, pause, rest, consider, gaze at vistas, stand on summits, descend, and climb again. But this is not to say there is no choice. You and I like many choose to climb. We choose to climb together. Together we can choose to journey, together we can choose to climb, with an optimistic step, one mountain at a time.

Your Friend.