A week before Christmas, a friend of mine introduced me to a bookstore in Luanda… I know it sounds a bit “so what?”… But these kinds of things are to be treasured if you live in Luanda. I have recently been reading more literature but coming from a business background I am a sucker for leadership and motivational books and it was great to be able to find some.
I was looking for a possible good Christmas gift for Pedro, being that the books were in Portuguese… as I was checking-out I noticed a book called, “Um Mês Para Viver” which in English translates, “One Month to Live – Live Life with No Regrets” by Kerry and Chris Shook. It looked interesting… a 30 day read – following the concept of what would you change if you only had one month to live. I decided to buy it, as I learned that it was written by a couple and thought it might be something nice for Pedro and me to read together.
We started reading it before Christmas and before our climb up Kilimanjaro. On the second or third day of the study, it asked for us to find an analogy to describe what we thought life looks like for us. The book used the example of a Roller Coaster. I don’t even remember what we came up with at the time but I am now most certain that my life analogy is like climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.
I thought about this many times throughout the climb and when I even shared it with Pedro, he looked at me a bit shocked, “is it that difficult?” “Isn’t that a bit extreme?”
It even took my breath for a moment thinking about it…. especially in thinking about 2010. But the more I thought about it, the more I was certain… 2010 is like climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro. It sounds a bit crazy to say that only a few days into the year but I foresee it.
I have to say upfront that climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro for us was intense, strenuous, difficult, gratifying, miraculous, and unbelievable… yup, all that! It is by far the hardest thing Pedro and I have ever done in our lives.
I am not a public speaker or anything but I have composed a series of entries in which I hope to share about our journey and experience up and down the mountain and why I believe my life analogy to be climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro. We have an incredible story to share and that I hope you find time to read.
*Climbing up the mountain for us was of great importance as it was something we dreamed about in moving to Africa and also being able to climb in support for a local orphanage, filled with kids that are special to our hearts.
