Midway through a U-turn, on a dead end street, this stairway called to me. I wanted to climb it just to see what was at the top. I was curious: Why was this random stairway in the middle of a hillside in a residential neighborhood of the city? Where did it lead? But curiosity was a luxury that time would not afford me that day.
I drove away.
the LOSS
Still tickling my fancy I headed back the next weekend to make the journey to find what may lie at the top. Certain I remembered which street it was on, I drove to the end of the road and there was no stairway. It seems to have been consumed by trees and hillside. I moved over a block, no stairway. One more street over, and still no stairway. How could it just disappear? Or how confused was I that day? Frustrated and running out of patience, I decided to move on and come back another day.
Then life carried me down its normal path of haste and busy-work. Eventually the elusive stairs faded from my mind until, finally today, fate brings me back to the same part of town. “Where are those stairs?” and “Where do they lead?” I hear my mind asking.
the EXPECTATION
I can’t explain my curiosity just to get to the top. My thoughts create a picture of what may lie ahead. Expectations of just another random residential neighborhood like the one at the stairs inception form behind the shade of my eyelids. I wonder what the purpose or expectation was when it was built, so many years ago. I wonder how often it is used. I wonder how many people other than those who live on this short one-block strip of road actually know that it’s here?
This time, I check the roads in the opposite direction of my earlier search. Surprisingly, just one block over from my previous failed attempt is the staircase. It was right in front of me as I made the turn down this street. Standing tall as if throwing in my face that it had been here all along, daring me to make the ascent.
the CLIMB
Slipping into a borrowed parking space, I hear the locks click into place as I walk away from my car. Not sure what I’m doing, or where I am headed, my right foot lifts to take the first step up to the top. “Right foot forward” I say to myself as I remember Grandpa’s journey down my childhood street so many years ago.
I’m really anxious to see what’s up there. I skip steps, tackling two at a time to hasten my arrival. I am moving along at a pretty good clip as I hustle my way to the top. I don’t look back and I barely look up. My eyes are fixed on the steps just ahead of me with each step I take.
the PACE
My pace slows. I feel my legs getting tighter and heavier. Each foot is a little harder to lift to the next step. I stop, take a break from climbing the stairs. I need to. My head lifts to see how many stairs are ahead. Turning around, I take a look back, something I have not done yet. I see the stairs below and where I’ve been. Seems like I’m about two-thirds of the way there. Exhausted from the enthusiasm of my start, I question if I have the resolve to go on. “Is it really worth it anyway?” I ask myself. “I could just drive around to the top from the other side if I really wanted to get up there. This journey is pointless, I should give up.”
But I need to go on. I can not give up on something I decided to do, no matter how trivial.
My right foot lifts to continue my journey, but this time at a slower pace.
last LEG
I decide that if I am to make it to the top, I will have to slow down. I realize that I did not take the time to really experience the first two thirds of the stairway. Now I’m just trying to appreciate my surroundings while I work my way through what I have left.
With each step, I enjoy a little bit more of my journey. Starting to notice things I was not aware of on the first leg of my climb, I see leaves on the ground and moss on the stairs. I feel the wind on my cheeks and I hear the rustling of the trees and animals nearby.
Keeping pace with my steps, my mind slows to contemplate my journey. I start to think about how this journey gets slower and harder the closer I get to the end. Though it is tougher to take each step, the further I’ve been, I also find more enjoyment and fulfillment with each raise in elevation that I gain.
My mind wanders further down this path of reflection as I start to relate these thoughts to life. I think about my own life, where I am now and how far I have yet to go. I wonder what will be at the end for me, just as I wonder what is waiting at the top of these stairs. I have a sense of loss for the days that I raced through, just trying to get by, as I started the early days of my own personal journey. I question how many things I have missed. I pause to think about how far I have come, something I never do. I move forward with purpose and with appreciation for all that is around me, and enjoyment in every step of the journey. I am more aware than ever of every moment, of every step.
the TOP
A few more steps and I will be there. My pace slows for the last few steps that I take up this long stairwell. My journey is coming to a close before I am ready to see the end. As I lift my foot, I take in the sounds of the trees rustling around me. I bask in the warmth of the sun breaking through the shadows. I allow the breeze to tickle my face as it races by.
I tackle my final stair. The stairs fade into a ramp to ease me through my final steps. I reach the top.
At first glance, I find exactly what I expected. A neighborhood with average homes set to the backdrop of a brick school house about a block away. A road that leads from the top of this path back into the bustle of the city where so many others may not even know it exists.
the DISCOVERY
But upon looking back, I find the surprise I did not expect at the top of these stairs. In fact, if I had not looked back, I would not have seen it at all. I had actually, taken step after step to pass it up, and now looking back it lies before me with perfect clarity.
Looking back, everything is so clear. I can see below me a town with beauty and intrigue I could not see as I drove the streets below. I see roads going in directions I have not yet traveled. I see nature hidden among blocks of homes and businesses. And there, hidden in the stairs I had climbed, hides a reflection of my own personal journey through life. I can clearly see the haste in which I passed up the fortunes of my youth. I can see the slowing of my later years in the last leg of the stairway. I can see so clearly the need to slow my pace and take in every step I have remaining on my journey. I can see the value in the stairs I have climbed.
time to JOURNEY
If you are near me on the stairway to the top of your journey, I hope that this lesson I have shared saves you the trouble of finding a stairway to climb in search of the same answers. If you are not as far down the path then I would hope you can find the time to slow your journey will you have more steps ahead of you still to enjoy. Whatever part of the path you are on, slow down, enjoy the journey and make the most of your trip to the top!
I would like to thank each of you for continuing up this path with me as we continue on this journey together. I am very grateful to each of you who pass this along to your network with any likes and shares you are willing to give, and look forward to interacting with you in the comments section below.
Andy Vargo is a motivational speaker, life coach and comedian who challenges you to ‘Own Your Awkward’. He is the author of the Awkward Journal series, host of the podcast, Own Your Awkward, and shares thoughts and ideas in his blog and video series available at awkwardcareer.com.
Originally published on LinkedIn