<In the City> Bukhan Mountain: 북한산.

I have always heard that this mountain was one of the toughest to climb, and such hearsay was no tall tale. 

Located right on the outskirts of northern Seoul area, Bukhan Mountain Park is colossal and prides on multiple trails and peaks in all sorts of intensity. 

It would be a whole lot of trivialization if I confessed to only a couple of 'my-life-flashing-before-my-eyes' moments. I definitely did not know this 'hike' would involve ropes. I was deathly petrified during the entire 3-4 hour climb and clinging onto those exceedingly steep rocks was my sole, discomfiting refuge.

What is your fear? 

Mine, if you have not guessed, is heights. Apparently this is an issue I developed as an adult, because according to my mother, she testified that I was acrophobia-less as a child.

Everyone has a fear, or fears, that he or she would like to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to. But just as you cannot shove your rotten, molding pile of dirty laundry under your bed and pretend to be ignorant of its existence, you cannot push aside your fear forever. 

Fear is like a baggage chained to your heart. It can make you sink lower and lower under the surface, until you may find it hard to breathe. Only you can find the key to unlock the chain and swim back up. 

The steps may not be easy, but once you do, your heart will start to rejoice in hope and peace.

<photo by me>