Valleys are the start of a journey or resting place before embarking on a journey up the mountain to higher peaks and spiritual enlightenment. They’re also settlement places.
The relationship between valleys and mountains is closely woven and when considered in a dual context, valleys symbolise one part of a journey that is often symbolic of low points in life.
We journey up a mountain for adventure, enlightenment, and spiritual connection however we also reference a valley as going down into the valley. This carries negative connotations and is symbolic of life’s ups and downs.
To get to high points in life we must also travel through some low points. A valley is symbolic of the low points of a journey that are needed to reach the high points at the peak of the mountain.
Everybody wants to reach the peak, but there is no growth on the top of a mountain. It is in the valley that we slog through, the lush grass and rich soil, learning and becoming what enables us to summit life’s next peak.
If we never go through any valleys how will we know when we’ve reached a mountain top? How will we know if the mountain is even any good if all our lives we stay up on the mountain and never experience any valleys? I know we’d all like to avoid those valleys at all costs, but the most growth for everyone happens during adversity.
Nature, like a loving mother, is ever trying to keep land and sea, mountain and valley, each in its place, to hush the angry winds and waves, balance the extremes of heat and cold, of rain and drought, that peace, harmony, and beauty may reign supreme.
Even in valleys where war, death, and emptiness exist, we can still find peace within these areas. This is an eerie sort of peace, the one we would find in a graveyard, and it’s this specific peace that allows for a different kind of reflection.
Each of us experiences the upward climbs and the downward slopes, sometimes multiple times each day. There are seasons of life that are hard. During the difficult times, it seems our world is pitch black, and we are stuck in the valley of despair.
We don’t know if a new day will dawn, or if the sun will ever peak above the next mountain. The momentary crisis of today will pass like the storm in the night, and soon we will see a new day dawning with all of its glorious radiance.
We will never see the beauty of the mountain peak unless we are willing to put in the effort of the climb. To reach the top, we will have to put forth more effort to climb than to remain wallowing in the mire of the valley floor.
The times when we get to rest on the mountain tops can be grand, so learn to relax, enjoy, and celebrate those times. The times when we are in the valleys are just as important, so learn to reflect, enjoy, and learn from those times.
Mountaintops inspire leaders, but valleys mature them. The challenges are an immature line of thinking that many of us cling to that life one day will be easy. If we learn from and apply the lessons of life, there may be seasons of rest and enjoyment, but if we are waiting to move onto easy street permanently.
If it is our life’s ambition to find ease and comfort, we’re going to be waiting a long time. Regardless of how high our mountains or how deep our valleys are, we have to keep moving forward. Enjoy our journey, and create a great day every day.