The Whistler's DaughterChristine “Kippy” Hoene
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Lessons from the Book2 min read

Five Things the Mountains Taught Me

From grief and measured steps to questioning assumptions and looking again, these are five lessons I carried home from the mountains.

Kippy on a mountain at sunset. Lessons from The Whistler’s Daughter: 5 Things the Mountains Taught Me.

The mountains have given me room to grieve, reasons to slow down, and chances to reconsider the stories I tell myself about other people. These are five lessons I brought back with me.

Lesson 1: Take Your Grief Outside. When I didn’t know where to put my grief, I went where my father always went: into the woods, the thin air and the wild.
Lesson 2: Find a Pace You Can Hold. The summit was reached in tiny, measured steps. You do not have to move fast to keep moving upward.
Lesson 3: Your Assumptions Are Not Facts. I decided they saw me as old, uncool and not tough enough. Most of that distance was only chatter in my own head.
Lesson 4: When Something Feels Wrong, Look Again. I saw a man who did not like me. I should have seen a person who might be in trouble.
Lesson 5: The lesson isn’t to think less of yourself. It’s to think of yourself less.

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