Beyond mountains, there are mountains
👇 Get new sketches each week
There’s a Haitian proverb, “Dèyè mòn, gen mòn.” It’s often translates as, "Beyond mountains, there are mountains."
The proverb captures the idea that we will always face challenges in life. Overcoming the current one won’t be the end. There will be another mountain beyond it.
I can see how this proverb might be disheartening. A life of endless hardship? Challenge after challenge? One problem after another?
How we face and climb out of difficulty is one of the things that defines us. Resilience is knowing that even once you've climbed one mountain, there may be another, and you can climb that one, too.
The proverb is fitting for the mountainous terrain of Haiti, which shares the Caribbean island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. It’s a wonderful visual and just so true. It’s hard to head to the mountains and crest a ridge or reach a summit and not be struck by just how many mountains you see.
The mountains are some of my favourite destinations, and I've had this experience in the Sierra Nevada, the Cascades, the Rockies, the Brooks Range, the Alps, the Dolomites, the Andes and others. When you’re up there, sometimes it feels like the mountains go on forever.
Beyond mountains, there are more mountains.
Hopefully, life isn’t all climbing out of difficulties, but I guess I’d rather be mentally ready for the next difficulty so I don’t fall apart when it arrives.
I learned about the proverb from a post by Ryan Holiday: 5 Years of Lessons From Running My Own Bookstore
The proverb is also the title of Tracy Kidder’s book Mountains Beyond Mountains , about Paul Farmer and his efforts to bring modern medicine to people who need it.
Related Ideas to Beyond mountains, there are mountains
Also see: