One Step at a Time
- Heidi Brandt
- Jul 15
- 2 min read
I recently went back to a place that feels like a second home. It’s the kind of place that lives in your soul long after you’ve left it—the kind of place that welcomes you back not with words, but with stillness, familiarity, and challenge.
And this time, it came in the form of a hill.A hill that—about 10 minutes in—transforms into a small mountain.And for the next 25 minutes, it makes you question every choice that led you to that trailhead.
The two people with me had a few choice words about this particular hike I picked.Fair.It was hot. Muggy. The trail slick in spots from rain the night before.The climb was steep, winding through trees that blurred your sense of progress.No sky. No breeze. Just breath and footfall and sweat and silence.
And yet—That mountain didn’t ask about my past.It didn’t care how in shape I felt, what mistakes I carried, or what stories I told myself about my limits.It didn’t demand anything but the next step.
That’s the thing about mountains.They don’t speak shame.They don’t measure you by your intentions.They stand still and steady, holding space for you to figure out who you are with every step you take.
And if you just keep going—If you keep showing up, one step at a time—You reach the top.
Where the sky opens.The air feels different.And the view steals your breath for all the right reasons.
That climb reminded me so much of life.
Sometimes, the path is hard.Sometimes it’s hot and slippery and we’re unsure of our footing.Sometimes we can’t see the light or the top or how much further we have to go.But we go anyway.
Not because we’re certain.But because we believe—on some level—that the climb is worth it.That what waits beyond the trees will be beautiful.That faith, even without clarity, is enough to keep moving.
So here’s to the hills that turn into mountains.To the climbs that challenge us and the people who show up anyway.To one step, and then the next.And the view we can’t see yet, but trust is there.
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