11/25/12 – Mt. Arbel

Mt. Arbel on the right.  Some other Mt. on the left.

We travelled a short distance from the hotel to Mt. Arbel, the spot where it was thought that Jesus and his disciples had gone to pray.  With the mountain’s flat top in the distance, Sr. Jocelyn set the tone for the day and asked everyone to ponder their answer to the following question if it were asked by Jesus: “What do you want me to do for you?”  My answer came immediately to mind.  “Nothing, I will do for myself.”  My answer follows along with one of my recent philosophies for life which is to try and live without regrets while being willing to deal with the outcomes of your decisions.  I suppose that if I were pressed to come up with something more mystical my answer might have been “Allow me to survive my poor choices” since one of my other philosophies for life is that bad decisions make for good stories.

Our group got off the bus and began the short hike to the summit of Mt. Arbel.  Near the top I spotted a rocky outcrop with a sheer drop that looked like the perfect spot for a picture.  Dad immediately knew what I was thinking as I handed him the camera.  The others in the group were shocked when they saw me approach the edge, sit down and dangle my feet over the cliff.  I absolutely loved it!  Being close to the edge of something high makes me feel alive.  I would have tried climbing to some other more treacherous spots but the red mud on my shoes was like grease and I chose not to push my luck.

Dad wandered around the top of the mountain and eventually disappeared from sight; he would later tell me that he was following the mountain goats.  Once a farmer, always a farmer.  But since Jesus was a shepherd, I guess it was completely appropriate for dad to search for the flock.

Mountains inspire stoicism and I broke away from the group to spend some more time alone away from the chatter and the safety of the railing.  From my vantage point there was only quiet with the slight noise of a light breeze.  My mind was completely calm as I peered out over the edge to the bottom of the cliff hundreds of meters down.  It was the same type of clarity that I experience while at the motorcycle track; everything slows down and you take in every detail.  I noticed each leaf move on a bush individually; I could hear my heartbeat.  Everything was calm in my mind and there was no past or future, only the present.

What do you want me to do for you?

Putting a cliff face in my backyard would be a good place to start.

The only way for me to be as tall as dad...get him to stand in the rock's low spot