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| Mayor Kilimanjaro |
Mt. Kilimanjaro does strange things to people. Symbolically, anywhere in the world, climbing an enormous mountain like Kilimanjaro represents a Herculean task, creating many skeptics that the human body can climb to the highest point in Africa. I have heard many Kilimanjaro climbers say that when they told their friends they were climbing Africa’s highest mountains, they were told their were crazy, going to die of malaria, tribal wars, or altitude sickness. This type of energy from friends and family builds up mental and physcial obstacles to climbing the mountain. But people go after the mountain and climb it anyway. The great thing about Kilimanjaro is that a huge majority of trekkers make it to the top. And then it happens!
When the trekkers get down the mountain, and look back at the mountain, they usually have a spirtual experience thinking they can do almost anything in the world. They were told they would not make it to top – and they did.
This elated high has caused people to do many strange things after the climb: some will climb the mountain every year, some will quit their jobs and move to Africa, others will give out thousands of dollars of gifts to locals, some buy safari companies.
But this is the best spiritual experience, awakening I have seen. This guy named himself Kilimanjaro.