I struggled with each step above 12,000 feet, all the way up to the peak at 14,450 feet and then back to the trailhead. Mt. Whitney is the tallest mountain peak in the continental United States. The air above 12,000 feet is thinner and more difficult to breathe in. This also makes it more difficult to exercise at that altitude. Having been physically active most of my life possibly made the hike a little easier, but it was the mental stamina I had gained over the years which helped me complete that hike, one step at a time.
The value of perseverance and persistence was also reinforced from another important, but very different, experience that involved finding creative solutions to seemingly insurmountable obstacles. When my daughter was in second grade, I didn’t like the fact that the children were expected to play in what was essentially a parking lot. So for the next three years I learned to do things I had never done before. I wrote grant proposals to get money to buy play-structures and equipment for two new playgrounds. It was a public school, so I had to work with the local government agencies to get approval for absolutely everything. By the time the playgrounds and an adjacent nature center were completed, my children had left the school. Still, twenty years and 2,500 children later, the playgrounds are still being used.
The third relevant experience was simultaneously one of the most difficult and important things I have ever done. During my life, I’ve done lots of different things to help people, from being a Special Olympics coach to tutoring homeless children and feeding the hungry in Los Angeles.
