Commitments on the Second Mountain
Hello beautiful souls,
David Brooks book, The Second Mountain, is all about the different commitments that one makes on his/her journey on the second mountain! What is the second mountain?
Maybe Joseph Campbell would define it as your hero’s journey. It seems fair to sum it up by saying that our journey to the top of the first mountain is motivated by the ego. What can I gain, have! The job, the title, the marriage, the car, the house, the knowledge, the diploma, etc. It’s more about getting!
I remember at one point looking at my life. I was early 30s, I had worked my way up the corporate ladder. Money was good, title was there, I had bought more cars than I had girlfriends… and I had lots of girlfriends! I was married to a well-educated woman, a Dr. We would travel to London for 4 days on a whim, then I decide to spend a few more days in France for fun and it would not break the bank account at all! We were always in fancy restaurants! I was taking sometimes 4 to 9 flights a week for work, pretty jet set! YET… life sucks! There was nothing fulfilling there for me. It was empty!
My spiritual journey had led me to realize that! I could feel it, I knew it. That’s where my journey on the Second Mountain began. The second mountain is more about giving! A journey where you still have to go through valleys. It’s not always pretty. There was my dark night of the soul! I suffered a lot, sometimes willingly. What allowed me to make that climb, through the valleys and the ups and downs was my commitment to love and faith! I wanted to follow my bliss, free myself of my worst enemy… me. Go back to what I had started to experiment and learn about myself that I am peace, love.
For Brooks, those commitments seems to appear in the form of either:
Vocation
Marriage
Philosophy & faith
Community
It’s an interesting way to look at it. I believe he puts it brilliantly when he says the following:
“When your life is defined by fervent commitments, you are on the second mountain.”
So today, let me ask you, where are you on your own journey? What are your commitments? Are they serving only you or others? Is it more about getting or giving?
There is no good or bad answer to this! We are where we are on our own journey and that’s okay. The road to the first of the second mountain is full of obstacles and challenges; and I can also share that we will all find more purpose, meaning, love and a deeper understanding of who we are when we start our climb to the second mountain.
Here is a simple question to get you started. What is your own definition of what those four commitments mean to you?
Happy journaling!
Be well & virtuous!
🙏💜
The Second Mountain
The Quest for a Moral Life
“Happiness is the proper goal for people on the first mountain. And happiness is great. But we only get one life, so we might as well use it hunting for big game: to enjoy happiness, but to surpass happiness toward joy.”
David Brooks