This is it.
This is the defining trait of all humanity.
To start all over again.
I travelled to Japan just to reach this summit. Not because it is the greatest climb in the world, but because when the universe and its infinite wisdom fails you, a single postcard sent to yourself from the top of a sacred mountain can save your life.
And it wasn’t easy.
Before the start of the climb, I found myself at the bottom of the volcano with wobbly legs and shaken spirit in anticipation of vertical climbs, altitude sickness, and relentless slopes. But I’ve never known courage to mean anything other than disrespecting the seemingly inevitable failure.
So you breathe in.
And then breathe out.
One foot.
Other foot.
Look up to marvel at divinity.
Look back to acknowledge mortality.
Slip on the loose volcanic rock and fall on your face.
And get right back up.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
You keep doing that for eight hours and you’ll witness the earth turn on its side and the sun rise from the clouds beneath to reach your eye level.
There’s this strange intimacy in walking alone in pitch black darkness with rain pouring from above and wind howling from beneath. By the time I was close to the top, I had lost the obsession for the summit, instead I developed gratitude for the journey. If I were to turn back at that moment, I would still be climbing down with a lifetime of memories and zero regrets.
In Japanese culture, Fuji is a reminder of death and rebirth. It is a place where an ending can become the beginning of something else. And I’m a big fan of starting all over again.
Viva la Vida. Long live life.
To new beginnings!
Anuj Deogade 
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