Valleys

Are valleys really the low and lonely places?
Are mountains the successes?

The valleys that are full of lush growth, surrounded by trees and flowers and streams.
The mountains and their desolation. Tough soil, rocks and crevices.
Not a person for miles to be seen. They are not the places you chose to build.
Unless you are prepared for the relentless toil of digging through rock faces and brittle surfaces.
Facing the strong elements with no wind break or warding off scorching fierceness.

No, I believe the mountains are the broken moments.
Where we suddenly find ourselves alone and out of breath.

We forget… The reason we are breathless is because we pushed through the stairs and hill climbs.
We dug deep, and we arrived. At some point, the world told us the barren moments were a mistake.
A place of suffering. Yet here is the best view.
The reflection moments of the good, bad and ugly.

The awing, breathtaking, raw winds, and a sense of being so terribly small and insignificant.
These are the moments.

Not of failure, but of pondering.
Not of finality, but of restoration.