Last week while driving through mountains of West Virginia I had a discussion with myself about a universal choice... whether it is wiser to live on the mountaintop, or to live down in the valley or somewhere in-between.

No, I'm not trying to be ridiculous by raising such a query, because as I considered these things I was reminded of the metaphoric reality that all of us sometimes live on the mountaintop... sometimes in the valley... but most of the time dwell somewhere in the middle.

Mountaintops are nice places to live.  They provide a lovely view of surrounding countrysides and provide a degree of isolation from predators which dwell in the low altitudes.

Valleys are where the rich, fertile soil is located, food in abundance as well as proximity to water and pastureland.  Valleys are sanctuarys surrounded by the protection of mountain walls.

In life however mountaintops are the happy places and valleys are the unfortunate tragedies.  Although we can romanticize extensively the possibilities of both mountaintop and valley living, in life there is no real advantage to choosing the valley... but many folks do just that, by choosing to be and to do things that make valley dwelling inescapable.

And then there are those of us who spend most of our time somewhere between the up and the down places, but inevitably experience both... some self inflicted valleys and some "wrong place, wrong time" valleys... and some natural order of humanity valleys.  And of course there are the mountaintop experiences... some brought about through great choices... some through "blessings from above" and there are of course some natural order of humanity mountaintops.

My question is simply this... Is there a way to maximize the mountaintops and minimize the valleys?  I think the answer is probably "yes". If such is true, then all I must do is determine which things I can affect which make for more mountaintop experiences and also recognize those things which I can affect which cause valleys so that they might be avoided.

These are things to think about... maybe not to answer for others... maybe just to reflect on for personal adjustment.  Seems there could be some wisdom buried in the process...

By the way... the people around us are all, like we, experiencing the mountaintop, trying desperately to get out of the valley or just hanging on somewhere in the middle. Perhaps if we can allow for these places in life, we might be more patient and more kind as we allow for others to move about as they deal with their ups and downs... we might even be able help a few get out of the valley and find a place on the mountain.

Peace to you on this Wednesday evening.

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