“One way to get high blood pressure is to go mountain climbing over molehills.”

– Earl Wilson

I’m stopping by today to remind you of the two great rules of life:  ”Don’t pet the sweaty things, and don’t sweat the petty things.”

We’ll leave the sweaty things in the category marked, “Obviously,” spray a little Lysol, and send them to the shower.  What I am thinking of today is the petty things and the way we let them accumulate until we find ourselves buried under a mountain of debris comprised of molehills.  How often do we have a small annoyance come our way and give it so much importance that it grows to a size that far exceeds its original form?  How can we choose to step over the molehills and save the ropes and crampons and carabiners for the mountains that require their use?

I know it’s been my theme lately, but I think it is all a matter of choices.  We can choose to see the molehill as a mountain, or we can see it for what it is and step over it with ease.  Perhaps we can even take our foot and step right on it and leave it flattened and unnoticed.  Why is it that we choose to let a molehill become the Rocky Mountains?  Several possible reasons occur to me.  Fear of the unknown can make it seem more powerful and more frightening than it really is.  Suppose I step on that molehill find that a huge sinkhole lurks just below its surface?  Suppose I step over it and my foot lands in quicksand?  There is always a chance that the unknown will lead us to a place we would rather not be, but there also is a chance that we will find ourselves in the middle of a new location that brings us growth and shows us joy.  We must choose.

How do we choose to step into the unknown?  The only word that comes to mind is Faith.  We must somehow find the formless place at the center of our wisdom that says, “it will be all right.”  Then, remembering our Faith, we must use our fearful thoughts as the catalyst for creating the courage to take a step.  When courage and faith combine, we know that whether we land in a sinkhole, in quicksand, or in an exciting new world, everything will be all right.  But we must choose.

When we are reluctant or unable to make the choice to move forward, each new molehill combines with the others we have avoided facing until we really do have mountains to climb — mountains of fear, mountains of uncertainty, mountains of distrust.  It seems so ridiculous, when we see it from an objective perspective, to allow small things to become mountainous; yet we do it all the time, because in the moment we fear the unknown.  Yesterday I read the words of Martin Luther King who said, “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”  This would be much more difficult to do the first time we experience a staircase; but I think that with practice and with the experience of reliable staircases we would find it easier to extend our foot in faith.  We must make it a practice to choose so that we will become more adept at choosing.  Whether we make the right choice or not only matters for a short time; and courage will see us through whatever we find on the other side.  When we fail to choose, we will find ourselves strapping on the crampons to climb molehills.  We will find our blood pressure soaring over very small things.

Let us decide today that we will choose.  Let us choose to move and grow and trust that the rough spots we might encounter will only leave us wiser and more capable for the next molehill that lies in the road.  Then, if we ever really do face a mountain, we will have the courage to climb it.  Faith tells us not to worry, it will be all right; or, as a friend of mine likes to say, “don’t worry; it will be amazing!”