Rock Climbing

The process of making new friends and remembering the old ones is a lot of like rock climbing. And I’m talking about rock climbing out that takes place out in the open, where you climb on real rocks and not some plastic rubber kinds. In every age of your life, you are compelled to make and associate with other people, preferably with people who have a common interest with you. Now as you continue in your relationship, you learn what to trust them with and how much you can trust them. You also learn the mistakes in failed friendships and the kind of people you don’t get along with.
This process relates to rock climbing because when you rock climb, you first start from the base, searching for a sturdy rock to help you get started. The bulges of rock you choose are to help you and boost you up to get higher. Friends are like that, your personal support system and there to back you up. You take into consideration which ones you choose to assist you. Unfortunately, like all people, not all the rocks are dependable. Some may look strong on the outside, but when grasped for, they crumbly away like sand. Just because a person acts “dependable” or “trustworthy” at the first impression, it should never be the reason why you choose to correlate with them.
As you slowly make your way up to the top of the mountain, selecting each rock carefully, making your way to the top isn’t the end. You need to remember the rocks you picked to get you back down. Those were the steps that helped you to reach the summit, but they shouldn’t be forgotten. Just as dependable friends shouldn’t be overlooked, we need to respect and cherish them for what they’ve done to help us.
So as you start your climb of making friends, think of it as rock climbing. Be slow and steady to choose your “rocks” and make sure you don’t forget them. Don’t be so easily drawn by the first impressions. As we go on with our lives, there’s going to be many mountains to climb, but it’s how we climb the mountain that matters, not what’s on the other side. It’s not a race to get to the peak first, it’s the learning process and how we apply it to ourselves.