En las Montañas- In the Mountains

It is often said that you have to climb mountains in life in order to succeed, and that life has peaks and valleys that you must find your way through all the time. This implies that there are challenges that require a sustained effort, but also in order to gain perspective in life, you often have to elevate your physical and mental approaches in order to clear your mind and focus on things from a higher level. With the Andes as a backdrop here in Santiago, the landscape of the mountains is a perfect metaphor for this perspective.

This past weekend, Sarah and I escaped the throngs of the city to the gentle recesses of El Ingenio, a small pueblo sitting at the foot of the Andes, where our friends Claudio and Selma have a cabin (una cabaña) to which they retreat almost every weekend and for extended periods in the summer. We left on Saturday to venture to this magical place, taking the time to visit wonderful towns along the way including Vertientes, San Juan del Maipo and Melacotón, and to enjoy the sights, smells and tastes (yes, we had to have another delicious empanada de pino).

Yet, once we arrived in El Ingenio, time seemed to stop. The air was crystal clear and the people in the town friendly and approachable. We enjoyed a delicious lunch (un almuerzo) with friends, partaking in a time honored tradition, but also slowing down to live in the moment, to see, smell and taste life without calculated purpose, but with a sense of ease and enjoyment. The nights were the same way, taking the time to not only look up at the mountains, but also at the vast sky and stars. I could see the Milky Way easily, as well as was able to see the Southern Cross for the first time in my life. This was quite a sight to behold.

With its fresh air and snowcapped peaks all around, the landscape beaconed me to lift my head and keep on moving forward. The days in Santiago are different than I am used to and the crowds of people also quite a unique event for someone like me, but the mountains encouraged me to not focus on the things in my direct path, but the things also on the horizon, to live in the moment and be in the moment, but also to get a perspective on the heights to come. It reminds me to set my sights on things above, not on things of this Earth. That perspective, I believe, is important in order to achieve anything in life, because without some guidance and perspective; the journey may not produce all the impacts that were possible.