  Humour in Life
Editor and Toronto Writer, Beverley Raitz Photographs Copyright Beverley Raitz |
Humour is A Tool For Greatness You must get into the game to be great. Thomas Edison said, “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” Humor is a very effective tool to motivate you to try, and try again until you succeed. Motivation can be a challenge when you have to keep trying to succeed. Just look at great athletes, dancers and inventors. Humor gives you an opportunity to see the bigger picture and the glimmer of success at the end of the road. I want to tell you an inspirational story ... Finally my journey has begun. I have dreamed of the day when I would conquer Mount Kilimanjaro and climb to the summit – Uhuru Point. I have worked hard over the last two years climbing lesser peaks but at last I am ready to climb the highest mountain in Africa – 5,895 meters. We start today. 
Hiking to the alpine ridge is time consuming. I must take it slowly to acclimatize my body to the dramatic change in altitude. But the scenery is magnificent and changes daily - cultivated foot-slopes give way to lush montane forest which changes into moorland of giant heather and lobelia and finally a surreal alpine world of snow and ice. Hiking up to this point has been slow but steady. Tomorrow starts the real climb. Above 4,000 meters there is no vegetation, just a white desert of snow and ice. It is extremely cold, the glare from the sun during the daytime is blinding and even with mountain gear the climb has been grueling. I have fallen several times. My body is bruised, battered and cold but I have made it past the rock face. Tomorrow we make the night climb to the summit. 
I have fallen hard just past Gilman’s Point. I lie on the ice, my head pounding, eyes closed against the glare of the moon wondering if I can go on. I hear a strange noise - a whistling sound. I open my eyes slowly and am surprised to see two large raptors circling above me. It looks like the larger of the two is being attacked. They are agile and beautiful as they swirl and spin and dive, pulling away at the last minute to avoid collision. I can’t take my eyes off them. The whistling sound becomes more pronounced and I wonder if one will kill the other. The smaller bird has caught some food. Both emit shrill cries that echo in this frozen crystalline world. It looks like the larger bird is flying straight and fast toward the talons of the other. Miraculously the larger bird does not attack the bird or go for the food, but rather comes up to fly just below the smaller bird and matches its rhythm in flight. I laugh out loud. This is not a fight to the death, but a mating dance. If love can bloom in this frozen wasteland then anything is possible. LOL It is dawn and I have made it to the top of the world at last. Mount Kenya, almost 600 kilometers away, is clearly visible. Anything is possible! Keep on smiling!
Beverley 
You must have long-range goals to keep you from being frustrated by short-range failures. - Charles C.Noble Excellence is not a skill. It is an attitude. - Ralph Marston I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it. - Pablo Picasso If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves. - Thomas Alva Edison
ARCHIVES 2011 August Issue:
Getting Passionate About Humour July Issue:
Anniversary Issue - Best of the Best June Issue:
We Have the Tools to be Happy May Issue:
You Are a Miracle April Issue:
Live On With Humour March Issue:
Ten Tips to Find Your Humour February Issue:
Ground Your Life With Humour January Issue:
Life is Waiting for You ARCHIVES 2010 December Issue:
Evolution and Change go Hand-in-Hand November Issue:
Mentorship and Humour October Issue:
A Positive Attitude Leads to Your Potential September Issue:
Laughter is a Cocktail for the Brain August Issue:
LOL | 
