A graduation gift LEARNING LIFE’S LESSONS BY CLIMBING A MOUNTAIN

By Manny Piñol

Growing up at the foot of the Philippines highest mountain, Mt. Apo, I have always wondered why people would go through all the trouble and the hardship just to be at the peak of the 10,311 feet dormant volcano.

It was not until 1999, a year after I was elected Governor of North Cotabato when I decided to bring my family along, my daughter, Maria Krista was 12, and second daughter Josa Bernadette 9, and made my first climb.

Halfway through the climb and hobbling from cramps and muscle pains, I cursed myself for making the foolish attempt to climb the 10,311-foot high mountain.

That all changed, however, when I reached the peak of Mt. Apo and saw the beauty below me. It was then when I realised how lucky I was to have been able to climb the mountain many others would not be able to scale in their lifetime.

After that first climb, I kept on coming back to Mt. Apo, so frequent that I have already lost the exact count – 12 or 13 times maybe.

The last time I climbed Mt. Apo was in 2009 when I brought my two daughters, Maria Krista and Josa Bernadette, on a quick climb.

Last Saturday, I decided to scale the mountain again.

The climb last Saturday was my graduation gift to my youngest child, Bernhart Immanuel, who is turning 13 and had just graduated from the elementary grades at the Ateneo de Davao and my second daughter, Josa Bernadette, who will graduate from the medical school on April 24.

This was Imman’s first climb.

It was Josa Bernadette’s third climb having scaled the mountain with me in 1999 when she was only 9 years old.

Jan Andre, 11, son of my older brother Patricio. joined us in the climb.

I believed that climbing Mt. Apo was a better graduation gift to my children, especially Imman who will soon enter manhood.

It was a quick climb as we left Kidapawan City at about 9 a.m. on Saturday and we were back at about 8 p.m. Sunday.

Shortly before we took off to make the climb, I gave my children and nephew a few lessons in climbing a mountain.

1. Do not rush. You cannot climb a mountain with just one leap. Walk slow and enjoy the beauty of nature.

2. In every step you make, be sure that you have a good footing. A mistake could be disastrous as you could break your leg.

4. Often, the best way to the top is the longer and more circuitous trail.

3. We do not own the forest and the mountain. Make sure that you do not destroy or damage anything.

I believe the lessons I shared with them do not only apply to mountain climbing.

These could well be lessons on how to live a meaningful life.

(More on the latest Mt. Apo climb in my succeeding posts.)