I suspect you’ve read or heard that often-quoted philosophy attributed to Socrates?...his declaration that “the unexamined life is not worth living”?
Well I’m pretty sure my life is worth living this week, because I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and self-examining.
Among the things I’ve been considering are the mountains I’ve climbed, and one that I haven’t.
We do that here in the Pacific Northwest: We look at mountains, and we think about them.
I swear I’m not the only one who does this. Those of us who own hiking boots and backpacks sometimes visit mountains, and I have a friend who talks to them.
If Socrates lived here, I’m pretty sure he too would gaze upon mountains and feel their kinship.
Several evenings ago I was on a ferry on Puget Sound, returning home after a day of business appointments in Seattle. The sunset light over the Olympic Mountains was quite nice. As the ferry headed toward the harbor in the little town where I live, a peak called The Brothers did an amazing evening-sky curtain call in a way that caused the hearts of even the most fatigued end-of-workday ferry riders to skip a beat.
Since that evening, I’ve been thinking about climbing -- or not climbing -- The Brothers. I know the route. I could do the climb as a long, strenuous day-trip, or take camping gear and make an over-nighter of it. I could do it.
But there’s something also to be said in favor of just seeing a mountain, even from afar. Would my appreciation of The Brothers be greater if I stood on its summit?
I wish Socrates was around, so we could examine this matter together.
