The Soul That Never Gives Up

“I will not give up, not as long as I draw breath” Caleb thinks to himself. “I walk up the road to this mountain top, and no matter how hard I climb I fall. It’s so cold, the wind blowing against my face. I keep hiking and climbing but the wind and snow is too much. The frost around my eye lashes makes it hard to blink as the crunching of the ice hurts my eyes. I search for something, a purpose, a peace. I long to find meaning in my journey, and I hope I can live to find my destiny in the midst of this storm”. Caleb continues to walk and walk, he notices the deep blue skies and the black obsidian like rocks intermingled with he snow and ice. He approaches the frozen lake between him and the last part of the mountain he’ll have to climb before he reaches the top. He carefully walks across the lake. As the wind picks up the snow blinds his sight even more. He pushes on and continues to make his way to the mountain top. He thinks to himself, “What will I find when I make it up there? Will I find what I’m looking for? Will I find the peace I seek? The purpose of this? Will I make it? I don’t know. I often wonder how different I could’ve lived my life. I often wonder what set me on the path of this journey. What possessed me to do so? I spent so much time in isolation and self-sabotage that I’ve now realized I need to come to a place of self-discovery. Where I can hopefully find this new vision of living a life of purpose. Protecting those who can’t protect themselves. Helping those in need. Taking care of my self physically and mentally. I want to do good but I don’t know how to. It’s like I’m trying to find the answer to everything in the midst of the storm. The storm I’m trudging trough as I walk along this frozen lake, and the storm I’m going through mentally. I often think of the words of my father before he died…

‘Caleb, when we fall it’s because we made mistakes along the way. If we stay down we accept defeat. But if we choose to get up, then we learn from our mistakes, and we learn what it means to walk and why. We must never allow our mistakes to define us. For if we do, we allow despair to bleed into our souls and become numb to that. It’s when we fail that we’re able to see where we took a bad step and only then we learn how to find hope in our inner strength. Never give up Caleb. Never give up.’

I miss him, and I wish I could see him again. I hope he’s proud of me, and I hope I can make him proud of me moving forward. When he died I felt like it was all my fault somehow. I was a kid then but still I always felt like it was my fault. His words are a constant reminder of how I need to keep moving forward.” As Caleb walks across the frozen lake he can feel it cracking ever so slightly with each step he takes. His spine tingles with fear like nails on a chalk board. He starts to worry if he’s going to fail or not, doubting his ability to do this. The ice starts to crack more and more. He moves slower and slower. As he moves he hears a rumble not too far away. The snowy winds have knocked down a tree that lands on the frozen lake, shattering the ice and causing a ripple effect. The cracking ice starts to catch up with Caleb. He runs with all his might to reach the other side. Running faster and faster. His movement is stifled due to all the layers of clothing he’s wearing. The ice is crumbling behind Caleb’s feet! He leaps as far as he can to the other side. He makes it! But the fall hurts his legs badly. His feet end up being soaked in ice water, and Caleb lies down to rest for moment after the leap he’s made. “I can’t… I can’t do this. I’m not strong enough.” Caleb closes his eyes. As he opens them he sees some trees. The wind has died down. The sun rises behind a tree as the heat waves warms his body. He sees his father walk up to him, “Caleb, get up! You must not fail, remember that your failure doesn’t define you. You can make it.” As his father reaches out to Caleb, he hesitates for a second but eventually decides to grab his hand and pulls him up. Caleb gets up in the middle of the storm. His realizes his father in the sunlight was a dream. He looks up the mountain and sees a few more steps that he needs to take to get there. He pulls out his knife to help himself climb up the path closer and closer to his goal. He keeps climbing with the bitter cold brushing against his face and hands. He makes another hit with his knife into the mountain and he does so he slips and his knife falls to the ground several feet below. Caleb continues to climb with his injured legs, and he climbs and climbs and climbs. He throws his arm over the cliff and he finally makes it to the top. As he pulls himself up he rests finally. The snow starts to die down and gently fall on his face. His freezing breath melts before his eyes. The sun starts to rise and the heat wave falls onto his body and warms him to the bone. As he sits up from his long journey he sees what he came up here to search for. A giant blue stone lies before him with a carving on a the stone that says:

“You’ve faced a real storm. Now you are ready to face your internal storm. Be ready. For the battle within is brutal. But it is where true strength is found. You can face anything now. Your destiny is yours to make. Not what others set out for you.”

What Caleb’s destiny is? He’s unsure, but he knows that he can face anything now knowing that he’s made this long journey to the top. Behind the giant rock is a metal chest filled with supplies of food, water, medicine, and a fire starter. As he reaches for the chest he sees a nearby sled and a long path across the rest of the snowy mountains. Only this time there’s no wind, but sunlight shining brightly on the snowy trees. He thinks to himself how his next journey will be tough regardless. But as the sun clears the path before him, he feels much more clear about his destiny; never give up no matter how hard the path may be. He takes his supplies and sets off into the rising sun. His destiny is up to him, as it is also up to each of to decide as well. Your destiny whatever you make it to be.