Ascent

Ascending the Mountain is not a difficult concept to understand. The difficulty comes from putting it into practice every moment. Let us start at the beginning, when you first begin your ascent. You look up the mountain and see tons of people already ahead of you on the path.

Their advice and insights are flawless to your pathway up the mountain. They point out handholds and where to place your feet. As you gain in mastery, the advice flows less. The pathway and handholds become unclear. Your ascent slows as you painstakingly struggle upward without support.

This is the true test of the Ronin. When you look up the mountain and the next handhold is nine feet above you. An impossible leap when you cling to a sheer face. Most will backtrack and lose their way. Some try a different course. One or two will make the insane leap, catching the handhold. As you dangle, you noticed new handholds you missed from your previous vantage point.

Ascending the mountain is not easy. That is why the higher you go, less people there are. It takes a great deal of faith to climb when your guidepost is the impossible. This is the path of the Ronin. Not to sit idly and gaze up the mountain, but to forsake comfort and seek out the secrets of the ascent.

Time to climb....