The Climb Changed Me

Some climbs are chosen.
Others appear in front of us.

Either way, there comes a point
when we realize the person still climbing
is not the person who began.

Maybe we're stronger.
Maybe we're more patient.
Maybe we've simply learned
what we can carry.

The summit doesn't create the change.
It gives us enough distance
to finally see it.

The climb changed me.

———

The mountains we choose
ask something of us.

The mountains we don't choose
often ask even more.

Who we become along the way
is the part worth carrying forward.