Sinai

On the drive to Mt. Sinai, a young Brazilian man next to me imparted me these pieces of wisdom:
1) Do what you like, and things will fall into place.
2) "Searching for something" means that you may actually never find what you're looking for, because your activity is just that: searching, not finding. The better thing to do is to stop looking for things. You'll discover more, appreciate it more rather than thinking "this isn't exactly what I wanted," and you might even get what you want when you least expect it.

As for the first part, I think to some degree that's true. Of course, there are things expected of us that we must do whether we like it or not--you can't live your whole life just doing only the things YOU like. It's necessary to be part of a greater community that holds us together. But at this stage in our lives, when decisions we make will clearly affect the rest of our lives and the lives of those around us, we need to ask ourselves a simple question: Who are we, and why are we here? (Ok, that's two questions. Whatever.)
Without many obligations compared to those older than us, our only obligation is to ourselves. I don't mean that selfishly. I mean that if we don't understand what we want in ourselves and how we function individually, it's impossible to build a solid foundation on which to branch out and begin repairing the world piece by piece. Self-discovery is what travel is all about, and everyone needs a chance to reflect on why they're choosing a certain path to take.

A large part of figuring out what we like involves searching for what will make us happy. This is a great endeavor, and one that could last a lifetime. Searching, however, WILL last you a lifetime if you don't settle for something when the opportunity is offered to you. In more cases than not, you could find what you're looking for when you least expect it.

To get back to my trip...Mt. Sinai, Horeb/Har Sinai, Jebel Musa--is a place holy to Christians, Jews and Muslims, said to be the spot where Moses communicated with God and received God's commandments and laws while his people waited patiently (not really) at the mountain's base. Who knows if this was the actual mountain--its factual claim to fame is just being the highest mountain on the Sinai Peninsula--but based on the amount of praying I heard while we tried not to slip and fall 7,000 feet to an epic and pancake-like conclusion, I'd say God was at least listening.

It's likely that at the ripe and youthful age of 80, Moses may have had some issues getting up Mt. Sinai. We definitely did, and that was with a clear path, stairs, and flashlights. It was a powerful image to look down as we climbed in the middle of the night and see thousands of tiny lights following us, fellow humans from all over the world who believe this site to have a certain historic and religious significance. Personally I think it may have held more meaning for me if there weren't so many people and camels at every turn. Even when we reached the top three hours later, the summit was virtually covered with people selling tea, talking or sleeping. Moses would have climbed the mountain alone or with a smaller group, which no doubt would have given him plenty of time for quiet and self-reflection.

For us, the summit was cold despite the amount of people tightly gathered there. Around 5 am the darkness finally began fading, causing the entire mountain landscape to take on an ethereal aura. The sun burst from the east, setting the mountain alight, warming our faces, and signaling the start of a new day, a new chance to set things right.


















As this important week comes to a close, here's a chance to reflect on all that's happened in the past year. Strive to be a better human being by being true to yourself and others. Do what you like, but not if it's at others' expense. Believe in yourself and take the time now to see how you fit in to the world, because there's no time like the present. Putting things off just makes them more difficult the longer you wait.
Now is also a time for forgiveness. Be willing to forgive yourself as well as others, because perfection--doing everything you want or not making any mistakes--is an impossibility. See everything as a new beginning and a chance to make the best of it. Bad things happen, and sometimes there's nothing we can do. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that's given to us.

Use it well.