moving tops

yesterday in my writer's blog, susanimhoffbird, I wrote about the final mile (1 mile to go).
today I decided that what I wrote was wrong.

well, perhaps not wrong, but limited in scope.

what I wrote about was that last mile of any journey, how long and difficult it can feel, especially when you're uncertain of when it will really end.  but that it's vital, and beautiful, and I am the proud owner of a hot pink sign with big white letters stating "1 Mile to Go" and a sketch of a biking chick underneath.

today, while vigorously pedaling my bicycle up the last 25 feet before cresting little mountain, I was hit with the next understanding:  the top keeps moving.
peaks are reached and left behind, and new peaks arise in the distance.
as miley cyrus sings, it's not really about reaching the top, it's the climb.
it's the climb.
it's every one of those 1000 miles, it's the journey just completed, it's the journey yet to come.
just because I only have 1 mile to go on this path doesn't mean I'm done.
after this will come another.
then another.
and the last mile will appear in my life again and again.

I cried.
while pushing with everything I had as I reached the peak, while realizing this was by no means my last peak, while being hit (graced) with the understanding that climbing is what I do.  I seem to want to keep working, striving, pushing, ascending, looking for the next mountain out in the distance.

however, I also like descending, I also like knowing that those 1000 miles are behind me, that the peak is in my past, who I was, what I've accomplished and gained. therefore, I think today's insight was simply a reality check.  yes, I might be on the last mile, but it's not my first "last mile," and it's certainly not my last.  it's just one more leg of a lifetime's journey, one that will hopefully allow me a new view and a pause before I regroup and head for the next hill.