Lessons From Failure

The first hike of my Oregon trip was Mount Hood, an 11,000+ foot extinct volcano that dominates the Portland vista to the East. I didn't summit this snow-capped peak, as that is a technical climb requiring crampons and a guide. However, I did hike the Cooper Spur, the highest trail hike on this daunting mountain. The photo above shows the Elliot glacier from the trail.

My plan was to hike to the top of Cooper Spur, an 1,800 ascent, and enjoy lunch and the views there. My plan failed. It is rare when I don't complete a hike I've committed to do-- yet this was one of those rare times.

The culprit was hurricane-strength winds on the ascent. They were so violent that I would have been knocked down by their force had I not had trekking poles. Even so, I slogged uphill against these gales for more than an hour. What turned me back was the volcanic ash that kept getting in my eyes. Since I wear contact lenses, any piece of grit can cause temporary blindness. This happened multiple times on Mount Hood.

So, instead of blindly ascending to the trail's end, I went a little over halfway, acknowledging failure. For a time I felt disappointed. But on the descent, I started "skiing" down the snow (there was much snow in the arms of the mountain) and had some genuine fun.

Failure was my teacher on this hike and I learned a few of its lessons. I learned that you cannot always succeed, no matter how fit or determined you are. Failure is inevitable. Even geniuses fail. I also learned that, out of failure, some good can come. Not only did I enjoy my "skiing" on the snow, I was rewarded with a view of two other nearby volcanoes: Mount Adams and Mount St. Helen's. Their summits poked up above low clouds and were ample reward for fighting, and losing, the battle against the wind.

Blogging Lessons

I've been blogging for 6 months now. I've enjoyed this experience even though blogging 4-5 times a week can be challenging. Here are some things I've learned.

(1) My initial delusions of grandeur have been humbled. Agents haven't beaten down my door to offer me six figure book deals. Google hasn't offered me a huge contract to blog for them. My readers number in the teens rather than in the thousands. However, learning humility is a good thing.

(2) I was initially worried that I'd run out of things to blog about. This hasn't been the case, even though some days I have more to say than others.

(3) What has amazed me is the great diversity of connections I've made with others in the spirituality field. I've exchanged comments with Buddhists, Hindus, Agnostics, Evangelical Christians, Progressive Christians, Shamanists and Non-religious persons. I've learned that many persons are seeking a deeper spiritual connection and have a great variety of ways of seeking it.

(4) Blogging almost daily has forced me to dig deeper into my own soul and life experience. As I've dug I have found greater clarity in understanding and describing a spiritual life.

As I've found with teaching, the teacher is really a fellow learner. I am grateful for all the lessons I've learned through this experience, and am looking forward to a future in the blogosphere.

Life Lessons From Tiger

So we've learned that Tiger Woods isn't perfect. What a surprise! Is there anyone who thought he was? Yes, he's the best golfer in the world, arguably the best ever. Yet, even the best golfer can make bad moral choices.

I'm not interested in weighing in on whether Tiger's private life should be left private (it hasn't). My interest is: What can we learn from Tiger's situation?

First, we can learn that bad choices can humble even the most admired of celebrities. Those who put Tiger on a pedestal far above us mortals are disillusioned. But such disillusionment is a good thing because it helps us see that everyone is an imperfect human being. Illusions need to be stripped away so that we can see the truth about ourselves.

Secondly, Tiger teaches us that choices have consequences. We can't know all of the consequences of his bad choices, but we've already seen several of them. He has hurt his relationship with his wife, his fans, and (maybe) his children. He seems to have recognized this, which is good news because recognition is the beginning of the healing process.

Thirdly, I hope we can learn that, without forgiveness, human relationships cannot thrive. Forgiveness needs to happen on several levels. Over time, Tiger needs to receive the forgiveness of his wife, he needs to forgive himself and we need to forgive Tiger. All of this takes time and effort. Forgiveness is not easy nor instantaneous (except in the case of God's forgiveness).

There are surely more lessons to be learned from this, but this is a start. What do you think?