I have been thinking this week about mountains and valleys. You know, life is really just a series of peaks and valleys. No matter where you are at in your life at the moment, it is likely a low point, a high point, or somewhere on the way to one of those. I have been really thinking about the high points. The top of the mountain. The place where it all comes together and for a moment you are on top of the world. I wonder - do you stop to enjoy the view? Do you look around you and savour the beauty, take a moment, thank the people who helped you get there, and pat yourself on the back for persevering through the hard parts... or do you rush down the side of the mountain onto the next thing, the next challenge, the next mountain.

I have a tendency to rush onto the next thing. I am grateful for the mountain, thankful that I reached the top and that the endless struggle to get there is done, but I don't really savour it. I don't enjoy the view. I don't look around and see what amazingness awaits. I don't think about the journey and reflect on the good and the bad that was involved in getting me to the top. Mountains can be different things to different people. Your mountain could be that you have been going through a hard situation that was not your own doing, but you can see that you are coming out the other side of it. Your mountain could be that you have set yourself a challenge that you never thought you could achieve and but you did it. Anytime we persevere through a valley and slog our way up the side of a mountain, there is a cost - but with that cost comes an amazing reward. Do you enjoy it or do you complain about the cost and not reflect on the reward that comes at the top of the mountain?

The view from the ground is completely different than the view from the mountain top. The photo below shows everything - there are layers of colour from the vineyards, the ocean on the horizon, and the road I took to get to the top of the mountain. There is depth and colour and texture. The view from the valley at this spot gives no indication of the beauty waiting at the top. The road is dirt and hidden away, if you weren't looking for it you would miss it, there are pretty vineyards nearby but other than that there is not much in the way of a view. If I look as far as my eye can see, I can see a vineyard and a rustic old building and then nothing - on the other side of the road is a huge industrial winery. Perspective is everything. Often the view at the top is completely worth the hard yards it took to get there, but we completely miss it because we don't take the time to stop and really see it.

There are lots of ways I have found helpful to enjoy the view from the mountaintop.

1. Write a gratitude journal about the situation or challenge that got you there and write down the things you are proud of, the things you are thankful for, and in doing so, acknowledge the journey.

2. Celebrate your achievement with someone. I am a teacher in a photography retreat group, and like every new venture, there are always challenges in getting it off the ground. The four teachers are in a group chat and everytime we reach a mountaintop, we celebrate them together. It can just be sending GIF's in our group chat, but it still makes us stop and take stock of the achievements that the venture is reaching.

3. Set goals before you set off up the mountain. As you achieve them, mark them off and set new ones. Goals can help keep you on track. Goals are also a really useful thing to help you acknowledge how far you have come. They help you see that you are actually getting somewhere when you are still in the middle of the hard climb.

4. Write a list of all of the things that you have overcome on the way up the mountain. It is amazing how much you can actually think of when you put time aside to reflect.

5. Live in the moment. Once you get there, once you achieve that thing, or fight through that situation - live where you are and savour every minute of the time, effort, and hard work it took to get there. Actually live it and breathe it. Don't be in a massive rush to sprint down the mountain to get to the next one.

A view is only as beautiful as the perspective of the person viewing it allows it to be. You could have achieved the most amazing thing in the world and climbed a personal Everest, but the view can get lost in the rush because you don't open your eyes and look around. My challenge to you is once you climb that mountain and you are standing at the top, exhausted, overwhelmed, and elated... stop and take in the view. Allow yourself to really see it. Enjoy where you are before you rush onto the next thing.