Climbing Spiritual and Physical Mountains

So, today after I got home from a quick meeting I had to go to, I felt the urge to go hiking; it's a bit of a a rare "craving" for me. While I enjoy hiking and the outdoors, I'm also really lazy. But I thought to myself, "it's a beautiful day, and really, what are you going to do if you don't go hiking? Scroll through your Pinterest feed all day? No, go out, and enjoy the day."

I asked my sister if she wanted to go with me, but she said she had stuff to do. So, after I ate lunch, my dog, Lola, and I hit the road, and we headed towards O'Melveny Park in Granada Hills. I've heard a lot of great things about this park, but me, being lazy, have never been, though, I've had plenty of chances. Haha, One of the things I heard about this park is that there is a place that you can see both the Santa Clarita and San Fernando valleys. And I wanted to see it.

O'Melveny Park has an equestrian trail, and a nature trail, and various other trails that could be nameless. But don't quote me on that. Haha. Lola and I started on the nature trail; when we reached a fork in the road, I took the path less traveled. And we hiked way up the hill, but eventually we hit a did end. So we decided to go back down the hill. At this point Lola was so tired from that first hike, that I decided that we should take a break and catch our breath. We settled in this little grassy area.

Lola's got swag. 

If you walk along the fence, that is the horse trail, but I think that trail that's just behind the fence is called the Grotto Trail.

Lola got to play with another dog there for a while. The funny thing is she was exhausted, bu she kept playing. After the other dog left, and Lola caught her breath, she gave me this look like she was ready to go. So, I refilled her water bottle. Yes, she has her own. Haha. It's one of those that has a little bowl attached to it so she can drink from it. And then we were on our way, up the Grotto trail.

It was hard, but I was really determined to get to that viewpoint. We would climb up one hill, thinking the viewpoint would be there, only to see another, and sometimes, steeper hill. Every now and then, after a steep hill, we would take a break. But I found that after taking a break, it was a lot harder to find the drive or motivation to keep going. But I knew that the climb would be worth it once I saw that view. 

Stop 1: After climbing a pretty steep hill, Lola literally dragged me across from the other side of the trail to this tree for shade. :)

Lola enjoying the shade. 

The view from under the tree. 

It was kind of funny; every time we were climbing a steep section, I thought about some of the prophets in the scriptures, who used to climb to the tops of great mountains to talk with God. And while He didn't show himself to me, nor did I hear His voice, I knew I felt His presence through the Holy Spirit. I knew He was with me. 

Every time I reached the top of one hill, I would turn around and take in the view, and it was beautiful. I closed my eyes, and just tuned into the sounds of the nature around me. It was really great. But when I opened my eyes, I knew that this wasn't the view I came for. Not to say it wasn't good enough, but I still wanted a greater and grander view. 

So we pushed on, and kept climbing up the mountain.

Stop 2: After a steep, and slippery, section, Lola just threw herself on the ground.

Stop 3

Stop 3; different angle. 

Stop 3; another, different angle. 

 After this point, I was tempted to stop, and just go home. I almost felt satisfied. Then I noticed this path. I don't know why, but I was drawn to it.

Something about this path just spoke to me, so I had to investigate. 

 As soon as I was on it, I realized why I was drawn to it. On both sides of the path, all I saw was hills, and little flat areas, covered in dry grass. Sometimes I forget how beautiful the desert landscape can be. But what I loved most about it was that while you're on this path, for the most part, there is no sign of the city-life to the naked eye. It's like you're hundreds of miles away.

Lola and I continued on this somewhat secluded path, until we eventually came across a fence. It apparently belongs to a local gas company, or the city water supply. I, with my eyes, followed the fence to see where it led. That's when I noticed this tree on top of yet another hill, and a trail that led straight to it. At this point, I had already told Lola a couple of dozens of time that we were almost to the top, and I kid you not, she gave me this look that said "Yeah, I've heard that before," but this time, I really felt it!

Stop 4

Stop 4; different angle. 

Stop 4

Stop 4

When we finally reached that tree, I noticed there was a couple of trees. But one of them caught my eye, because there was this crate locked to it. 

Inside this crate, there are letters, and notebooks, and all kinds of stuff. Apparently, people who hike up here often, keep a record of their adventures. I thought that was pretty neat. 

We had, what I felt like was, the last uphill climb to the top. 

And it was the top! I was so excited! Getting up there was such a struggle, and with all of our breaks, it took us hours to get there. I honestly wanted to give up on multiple occasions, but I knew that what I'd get to experience from the top would make the climb all worth it! The view was glorious. 

The following are some spiritual thoughts that came to mind while I was hiking; forgive me if I repeat myself, or if I simply don't make any sense.

Getting to the top was my goal from the beginning. But there were distractions, and setbacks, and hiccups along the way, and it took me a while to get there.
As I was climbing up that mountain, I thought about how the top of the mountain was like the Celestial Kingdom. Our goal is to do everything we can do in this mortal life to get back to Heavenly Father in the eternal life.

Every time I took a break, it was that much harder to start up again, and keep going uphill. Every time, I was very tempted to turn around, and go back down the hill. Likewise, every sin I've committed makes it that much harder to keep living a gospel-centered life. It is easy to look at my mistakes and feel like I can't return from that point of despair. It is easy to feel guilty and to feel like I'll never be forgiven.But I can be forgiven. In fact, I have been. Jesus Christ has already suffered for me, for my mistakes, my sorrows, my burdens, everything. All I need to do is repent, and I can be wiped clean from that. But without repentance, I cannot move forward and upward. Without repentance, I would probably continue to sin,and it could lead to my own spiritual destruction. Repent, endure to the end, and eventually, I can reach the top of the mountain, and live with my Heavenly Father.

While I was climbing up steep hills, I thought about how hills are like the trials and blessings in our lives. It was so hard to climb the steep hills, but I kept my mind on what my goal was. I knew I wanted to get to the top. I kept that in perspective the majority of the time. There are times when I didn't. There are times where I lost desire to keep going. And while I was catching my breath, debating if I should turn around or keep going, I thought about gratitude. It is easy to be grateful during our times of abundances. But am I grateful for what I have when I don't have much? Am I grateful during my trials? Am I grateful for my trials? Am I grateful for the opportunity to learn and grow from my trials? Honestly, most of the time I am not; that is something I need to work on. But, as with hills, I can not enjoy the easy, enjoyable part of the trail of life without appreciating the hard part of the trail of life.

Going back to the path I was drawn to. . . Well, I guess every time I reached the top of one hill, and I turned to see the view of the valley, I was also worried about getting too far away from civilization because I was afraid of getting lost in the mountains. And when I found the path, and was able to look around and not see the city, I felt really great. In my mind, I related that path to the righteous path we must go on. The path led me to my destination, the viewpoint at the top of the mountain; just like the righteous path leads us to eternal glory. But we can only be on that path if we leave behind ways of the world. We must be in the world, but not of the world.

A similar thought I had was when I realized I had gotten high enough on the hill to see the cloud of  smog and pollution that looms over the valley. I honestly think that was when I had my first spiritual thought. When I thought about it, you don't usually notice the pollution when you're down there. It is only when you stand on high ground that you see how dirty the air really is. I related this to sin and immoral behavior. When you are around sin and immoral behavior, or when you participate in this behavior, you let your guard down. You become desensitized to it, and eventually, you don't even notice it. It is only when you stand on high moral ground that you can notice the sin around you. But we are not to judge or treat our fellow brothers and sisters, who are also children of God, for their behavior. We must love them as the Savior did.

Speaking of what the Savior would do, one of the lessons I learned while hiking was about "carrying" our brothers and sisters when they fall or need help. There were times were Lola was tired, and I was not tired. I could have kept going, but Lola needed to rest. I thought about how much faster I could have made it to my destination without her presence. But, then, I thought about how if she hadn't kept going, if she hadn't started taking those steps when I was ready to turn around, I never would've made it to my destination. While getting to the Celestial Kingdom is desirable, it is not a race, it is not an eternal finish line that we must all cross. The scriptures teach that "the worth of souls is great in the eyes of God (D&C 18:10);" one might say that the worth of every soul is great in His eyes. I believe He wants us all to return to Him. We must help ourselves get there, but we must also help others get there. Something as simple as a friendly hug, a thoughtful conversation, or a card in the mail makes a huge difference in the lives of those who need a friend but don't know how to turn to one. We must help our brothers and sisters in time of need. We must be like the Savior was. Every little act of kindness helps to soften the hearts of others. We need to do what we can to help others get there. They have their agency, and can choose to follow what path they may, but we must be diligent in being disciples of Christ to them, and being diligent in being their confidant.

Mission Peak

The Widower's Bench

This grove-type area at O'Melveny Park.

I really like their "fence."

Anyway, I just wanted to share my thoughts of the day.