Merely Move a Mountain
Life is short. Make it matter. Frankie’s life cut short taught me that.
So, my mission became to make some small sliver of the planet slightly, but enduringly, better. And since most worthwhile doing is a group effort, I soaked up all I could about how groups work.
Good fortune embedded me in a string of eye-opening groups, each tightly bound and intent on creating something special – an Irish Catholic family and neighborhood, a hall of fame cross country team, an Eastside bar association, a small Kirkland neighborhood, a well-respected law firm, and, finally, Seabrook, a beach town on the Washington Coast.
I also wallowed for two decades in the misfortunes of other groups, bringing lawsuits meant to drive the final nail in the coffin of relationships grown toxic.
The takeaway? Fear divides. Trust unites.
Ever since, I’ve served lawyers and neighbors, strengthening bonds within groups and directing each group’s gaze to some worthwhile outcome it is up to them to create.
Artist Richard Stine captures this life in his image of a solitary soul perched atop a mountain, leaning too far forward in a hopeless attempt to reach a star that is just beyond his grasp. The image evokes two questions. Why isn’t the guy falling? And how can he possibly bridge the gap that places the star beyond his reach?
Turns out he’s not falling because the pull of the star surpasses that of the earth beneath him. And all he’s got to do to bridge the gap is to merely move that mountain he’s on a foot or two nearer the star.
That image manages to express both the fantasy of independence and the fact of interdependence. The eye is drawn to the person, defying gravity while striving to achieve the impossible. Easily overlooked is the mountain he’s perched atop, the one that places him so close to his prize. And also unnoticed is the fact that the mountain itself consists of hundreds of tiny pieces, mortared together to form the sturdy tower on which he stands.
That image is a mirror of sorts. To stare at it is to see ourselves. Most see themselves in the person reaching for that star. I see myself in the mortar that strengthens the mountain. And in the end, I’ll be smiling, for in doing my small part to lift that mountain, I will have done what I was born to do.