Climbing and Running
7 marathons. 7 continents. 7 years.
Climbing and Running and Caring
January 25, 2011 by Mitch Lewis · 6 Comments
As I move closer to the destination, the second to last summit of all my endeavors, I realize that I have learned one thing above all others. None of this actually matters. But yet it does. In essence I am doing what I love to do, and that’s to set myself a challenge and to take it to the max, one step at a time. But this is not necessarily who I am.
What Do I Care About?
As I look back on the archives of this blog, I realize that it really is a catalog of wonderful events that I have put my body through torment to achieve. They haven’t been easy, but I don’t chronicle the issues I face on a daily basis. The ones that really mean something to me. The same issues anyone faces. I am lucky enough to have a family and friends whom I love dearly. I go to work everyday to a place that challenges and inspires and stimulates me. I meet wonderful people who have guided and mentored me and I try to do the same for others.
I am Mitch Lewis. A reliable, regular, dependable guy who tries to live a full life in an honorable way.
And so Everest approaches. I ready my gear and wonder if I’ll be ready, physically, and mentally. I wonder how I can take the time off from work, I worry how to pay my bills when I am gone, and who’ll bring in the mail, and if my neighbor can keep an eye on the place. I plan everything to the nth degree, losing myself in catalogs of equipment, wandering through REI and Marmot mesmerized by row upon row of hiking boots and down jackets and more and more stuff. Sometimes I come back and wonder what I could have done with the money I just spent to make someone else’s life a tiny bit better. Hard questions. Hard answers.
Is it selfish to leave my sons and the woman I love to head into the great unknown, where my life will be in danger, and where I may not come back to see my future grandkids? Certainly it is. Yet on I go, driven by an internal
combustion engine, that has fueled everything I have ever done. The same engine that helped me to raise my kids, work hard and love unconditionally.
Over the years, I have traveled the world for business and also for pleasure. I embrace change and every facet of the world and what makes us who we all are, from the wealthiest nations to the poorest ghettos and slums. One thing that has touched me the most is the plight of the children that I have seen along the way. They are the most vulnerable and most deserving of us all. I have seen kids in Soweto running around with no shoes on their feet, those in Mumbai living in street tents and those in Jakarta clinging onto their mothers backs walking for miles to get work. I have seen joy and pain in their eyes. And I’ve seen optimism and smiles.
I wonder what I can do to help these kids. The key is education. If we can bring a means of educating the youngest among us, then who better to make the world a better place for when we are gone? Instead of living hand to mouth existences, what a profound thing it is to open up the world to those little ones who can be our legacy to come. The future doctors and teachers and business leaders, farmers and shopkeepers – shining examples of what is possible.
For this reason, I have decided to support Dan Mazur’s Mount Everest Foundation for the work that they are doing to better the lives of ordinary Nepalese schoolchildren who live in the shadow of Everest.
Every day is a gift. Giving back is the greater gift.
The definition of a “mitzvah”: A good deed … for spiritual or ethical principles … something that people do or cause to happen … for others.
Comments
Speak Your Mind
I am a 40 year old high school teacher. At the age of 35 I had a grand mal seizure and was rushed to the hospital. There, I was told I had a very large malignant tumor in my right frontal lobe. I underwent a right frontal lobe resectomy in July of 2005 and was told I only had 2 years to live. Since that time, I have undergone 30 rounds of radiation to my brain; 3 years of chemotherapy treatments for five days in a row every 28 days; numerous hospitalizations for the oppportunistic infections and a plethora of other “non-traditional” treatments. I have NEVER once asked, “why me?”
I believe everything happens for a reason. You have found your reason…as you continue on your journey you will forever be hoisted in the hearts of so many beyond the children who live in the shadows of the great mountain. You are providing “light” for them to have a better life and become productive members within their society.
This July it will be 6 years for me…4 after my “death date”. I believe I was saved to put a face on cancer and to spread the word for those who can not speak for themselves. I speak LOUDLY! I participate in “Relay for Life” during the spring season where I tell my story and stories of those I’ve witnessed. Cancer is not prejudiced…it attacks every age, both genders, every faith, culture…EVERYONE!
I care about HOPE…HOPE for a better tomorrow where cancer isn’t diagnosed every second of every day throughout the world. HOPE for those who continue to battle…HOPE for the families and friends of those who have lost their battles…HOPE that through education cancer will be defeated! HOPE.
Mitch, I love reading your posts as you both prepare for Everest and moreso as you reflect on the experiences and people you’ve meant on this journey of life.
“Every day is a gift. Giving back is the greater gift.” Love this and so very true. I’ve been thinking a lot about change these days and came across a quote that you might enjoy, it’s my new mantra.
“Change is hard because people overestimate the value of what they have—and underestimate the value of what they may gain by giving that up.”
— James Belasco and Ralph Stayer
Have a great weekend.
From the moment I was posed with the question: “What do you care about?” I have not been able to stop thinking, contemplating and reflecting on my answer. I care about so many things. I care about my family, my friends, work, education, cures for illnesses, homelessness…the list seems endless. When I really dug deep though, one question in particular kept coming to mind: “How can I make a difference?” That may sound cliché but it really is what means so much to me. What I truly care about is MAKING A DIFFERENCE! I just kept thinking, “How can I make a difference in my family? How can I make a difference in my friends’ lives? How can I make a difference at work, in education, with cures for illnesses, homelessness… how can I make a difference in people’s daily lives?”
Caring about making a difference is the essence of my attitude in life. It’s a perspective, an outlook on life. No matter how big or how small the good deed or thoughtful gesture is, the point is I have made a difference. As I thought about this, certain memories flashed through my mind…I remembered the senior citizen whose car died in the middle of an intersection and how I helped push her car out of the way while wearing 4 inch heels; the father who fell asleep at the wheel with his 2 year old son in the car at a stop light, whose window I banged on until he woke up; the homeless man’s thankful eyes when he realized a bag of groceries were being given to him,; the welcomed surprise in a strangers’s faces when being greeted with a perky hello; the dumb joke that makes people laugh; and the simple things that make life so much better. I thank God that I can make a difference.
What means the most to me about making a difference is IT COMES FROM THE HEART and IT’S FREE! I’ll go out on a limb and encourage every one of you reading this today to make a difference in someone’s life. Whether it is big or small, acknowledged or not acknowledged. Trust me; you will surely feel a sense of happiness because of it. A smile, a compliment, showing respect, passion, honor, a hug, integrity or lending a helping hand…these are all simple gestures that do make a difference. I’ve heard it said that nothing in life is free; but, that is simply not true. Some things are free! Making a difference is free—and absolutely achievable.
Sending an electronic “SMILE” to you today…..
Mitch,
What a difference it makes to take the time to be nice to people. You just never know, the stranger next to you on your next flight could turn out to be an amazing friend.
I’m so grateful for our friendship.
Monika
I am not the best at expressing my feelings “out loud”, but I recently saw this in a book called “Living with Intention” that I was skimming through and it touched something in me. So I thought it would be wonderful to share…
“If we do everything else but that one thing, we will be lost. And if we do nothing else but that one thing, we will have lived a glorious life.” ~Rumi
Live with intention.
Walk to the edge.
Listen hard.
Practice wellness.
Play with abandon.
Laugh.
Choose with no regret.
Continue to learn.
Appreciate your friends.
Do what you love.
Live as if this is all there is…….
I’ll be thinking of you over there as I am over here without you. I’ll be imagining each step you take across the glaciers, up the steps and doing it all back down again. You want to know what I care about? I care about you coming home safe and sound. Remember to keep those ropes tight, ice ax at the ready, harness ALWAYS on.. (am I being a mom again?)