900 Steps
900 Steps. That’s how many steps there are to climb to visit the Monastery at Petra – my wife and I recently came back from a vacation of a lifetime – cruising the Nile and then visiting Jordan/Petra.
After hiking thru the canyon past the Treasury (about 2.5 miles), we came to the optional part of the visit – climbing to the Monastery at Petra. We both had picked up some sort of bug, but I was about 3 days behind Nancy, so I wasn’t feeling great. She decided to make the climb, and after much back and forth, I decided to give it a try – although I said I’d bet against my making it to the top (about .8 miles each way). I had all sorts of concerns – from whether the bug I contracted would get worse, to whether my knees would hold up. It was tough – these were not “steps” in the literal sense - the steps were very uneven (rocks in many cases), tough to get a grip or find an easy path in many places. We had no guide – there was an option to ride a mule or horse to the top, but that wasn’t the point.
I was climbing in a particularly difficult spot when suddenly a mule came right up behind me, carrying a tourist and supposedly being led by a guide/handler. The mule came along side me, and I foolishly thought it would wait for me to move to the side. Instead, it proceeded and knocked me to the ground – I made it quite clear I was not happy, and yet the guide tried to blame the incident on me – I guess pedestrians don’t have the right of way. Fortunately, while I was a bit shaken, I wasn’t hurt, took some deep breaths, and kept going.
About 2/3 of the way up I stopped to catch my breath – the entire time I was very mindful of steady breathing, staying hydrated, and going at a comfortable pace. Made it to the top and was rewarded with a sight of the Monastery and the knowledge/experience that I made it.
But this post isn’t about Petra – it’s about the ideas of persistence, taking measured risks, understanding yourself – your strengths and weaknesses, limits, overcoming adversity, and knowing when to push yourself and when to say you’ve achieved your goals. I was very clear I wasn’t going to push myself to the state of exhaustion, or really feeling ill – it simply wasn’t worth it. I wanted to know that I tried and gave it my best without taking unnecessary risks (I also learned that when I heard a mule coming to move to the side!). I didn’t dismiss the doubts in my head – I listened to them to see what they were saying, and developed an approach that tried to mitigate the concerns I had. It turns out I use this approach in my photography, business, and life.
We both made it back to our hotel (having hiked a total of 7 miles) where we showered, had dinner, and promptly went to bed! And there’s a great sense of satisfaction, not only of having climbed to the top, but also of overcoming all of the bumps and challenges along the way while keeping ourselves safe. An experience of a lifetime and a valuable life lesson!
