Effort and Suffering are the pleasure

These days our little mobile home is parked in Glacier National Park in Montana.

As soon as we arrived, we drove the famous “Sun Road” in the camper. Gorgeous views to be enjoyed without any effort, other than driving carefully and stopping every now and then at the scenic viewpoints.

The next day, a 20 km hike in the mountains. The photo in this post was taken from the summit we reached, which was also the panoramic view from our “lunch break”.

My reflection is on what I experienced “inside” in the two different situations. The first made me say “beautiful”, but without any emotional involvement, and by the end of the day I was mentally tired. The second brought a childlike enthusiasm: despite the great effort and the hours of walking, my soul felt as if it were celebrating.

I am convinced that the ecstasy of beauty only strikes you if you have earned it; the pleasure that comes from what lies before you exists only when accompanied by a certain degree of effort and physical suffering. Otherwise it is like looking at a product on a shelf. Perhaps beautiful and interesting, but nothing that truly captivates you.

m.m.