
He had lived a long life and climbed many mountains.
Near the end, an angel asked him, “Was it what you imagined?”
“Which part?”
“Every age and every climb.”
He thought for a moment. “At each summit, I wasn’t the person who’d first wanted it.”
“How so?”
“I’d met people along the way I never could have imagined. I’d said goodbye to some I thought would always be with me.”
“What did you learn?”
“That the people mattered more than the peaks.”
“And the peaks?”
“I’ve reached many.”
“And then?”
“I sat down. I let it be enough.”
“For how long?”
“Long enough to be grateful. Never long enough to stay.”
“Why not?”
“The horizon had shifted, and I caught myself retying my boots.”
Photo by Gaurav K on Unsplash – sometimes arriving changes what we can see

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