HOW I CONQUERED AFADJATO

It was written out pretty clearly on the promotional copy Sitsofe the BLOOMFEST tour coordinator sent out inviting the community to join us on a hike to the peak of “the highest mountain in Ghana.”

 I read it, but somehow it did not register. After all, I am one of the producers with a zillion things on my mind and climbing 2904 feet up a hill was not one of them.

Cut to this…

….to my horror at the mid-way sign, I realized  I might not be able to make it to the top. 

“So much for taking on the ``IMPOSSIBLE,” I thought to myself as I panted for air, during a pause at the halfway point.

Mind you, I exercise regularly, I think I am a fairly fit 60 something man. But there I was trying to keep pace with people in their 20s, 30s and 40s. 

Shame saps your energy.

Chantal one of the BLOOM Guides thankfully had the good sense to call for a group pause to re-center when we realized this was not what it seemed.

The climb started off at a fair pace in a light drizzle that the group seemed to ignore. I did not. I imagined muddy slopes, losing footing, having to be present to every foot-fall. 

But what I did not foresee was the body-heat generated even that far above sea level.

“Tuck your pelvis, watch out for ants, breathe!…”  All these and more were among the helpful shouts members of the group  gave each other and themselves.

The panic that entered my mind seemed to be mine and mine alone. 

Images of me struggling for air, passing out and not being able to carry on was too much to bear. My chest was dense with fear. 

I remember choosing to let out a loud scream. 

This was hard!

Even in a supportive group our challenging journeys are individually experienced.

No one can take your journey for you, and how we each choose to go is of our own making.

I can’t tell you exactly how I made it to the top except to say that I kept going. 

There was no one thing that got me through. I suspect it was all of it. The sense of dread at having to give up, the pause, the cheers, the shame, the breathing… not being alone, these all helped.

Perhaps in the midst of engaging the impossible this is what happens—grace comes to our aid in whatever form it does, and then we get to say “I DID IT!,” and create a story about “HOW.”

My "how" was not pretty. 

My celebration sure was!

🙌🏿🔥🙌🏿🔥🙏🏿❤️

#IJS

Olubode

PS

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