It was 11:30 pm. I had just finished doing 6 loads of laundry and I was finally done. Hurray! I could finally go to bed, feeling that I had accomplished one task I had set out to do that day.
Off goes my alarm at 6:00 am. I get out of bed and make my way to the bathroom and that's where I see it. In the very same spot where I could see the gleaming hardwood floors the night before lay…a...pile…of…dirty...clothes. And as I walked from room to room to wake up sleeping children, I found more piles of clothes.
I couldn’t believe it! I had just climbed Mt. Never Rest yesterday! I did NOT want to do it again today!
I first heard this phrase from a friend of mine when we were discussing all the things we had to get done at work and at home. She said that, no matter how many things she did get done, there was one thing she could always count on needing to be redone again. “Mt. Never Rest." AKA “Laundry.”
Each day as I prepare to climb Mt. Never Rest, I remind myself again that there are some things in life that you are never completely done. Even when they’re done, they’re not really done.
But climb I do! That day and the next day. And the next day, and the next day, and the next day. And I've been doing it for the last 15 years!
This scaling of Mt. Never Rest has taught me a valuable life lesson: We’re never completely caught up. And if we think we are, it is extremely short-lived. There’s always something that needs to be done tomorrow.
And because of that, I’ve become more comfortable letting things go when I need to to savor that which is of utmost importance today. I can choose how to spend my time, energy and attention on those that matter most and sometimes leave less important things to be done tomorrow.
Today is here now. Enjoy it. Tomorrow will be here before you know it. Then you can buckle those boots, strap on that harness and don your climbing gear to scale Mt. Never Rest once again.
What Mt. Never Rest are you climbing in your life? What have you learned from the experience? Feel free to share with us so that we, too, may glean from your experience.