Indian summers are the dream of rock climbers. The days aren’t summer-hot, but just warm enough as the Autumn breeze cools off an active climber. Reaching the top of the climb, you can see a vast expanse of crimson, gold, and pumpkin-orange hues that shine with the brilliance that only a northern deciduous forest can hold—a seemingly infinite banner of treetops.
Imagine yourself at this place. You stand at the bottom of a rock face, tying your harness into the rope that will catch you if you happen to fall. Your belayer gives you the go-ahead signal: “Climb on.” As you scale the side of the cliff, you find all the right handholds and footholds, and before you know it, you’re halfway up the cliff, but then... you stop. Freeze.
A ledge looms above your head and you could get halfway up it but can’t find any holds to climb over it. There are no cracks in the rock, no edges to grip onto, nothing—just a smooth slab of rock above and the ground far below. You hesitate and hang there, trying to decide what to do. You glance back at the ground again. Maybe it’d be easier to just go back down. Your arms start to feel heavy with the effort of gripping the rock.
From below you hear small voices. Your ears prick to tune to the voices of your friends. You hear them saying, “You can get this!” and “Just put your toe in that crack to the left and push yourself up—there’s a hand hold at the top of the ledge! We’re not letting you come down until you’ve finished” and “You’re so close, you’ve almost got it!” With a burst of energy that explodes though your limbs like a spontaneous combustion you spring from your legs and grab the next handhold. With a quick succession over the ledge you reach he top of the climb and sit back in your harness, feeling triumphant as you gaze at surrounding hills.
Alright, you can stop the imagination train now. Think back to the story you just read. As a climber, you were about to give in and give up. What stopped you? Encouragement.
You could have very well been laughed at and your friends could have called you weak or could have said some other destructive sort of comment that would not have helped you overcome your difficulty, but surrender to it instead.
Encouragement is incredibly important in all sorts of settings—at home, at school, and in the workplace. If we’re not encouraging one another in our struggles, then what are we doing? We are either throwing out unwanted negativity or standing by in silence. That’s foolish. Building each other up is a sign of love and a key to healthy relationships. We are all more productive and happier when we’re encouraged.