Adam’s peak

LAST week, we did the Flying Stars Feng Shui Analysis for a lovely home with a beautiful view and fresh, fresh air at the top of a mountain.

I could not help but giggle when our client pointed out their house, and the route we must take to get there.

We hadn’t done much climbing for quite a loooong while.

This is the very first that required us to make a trek ever since we started doing Crystal Feng Shui some 9 years ago, and Flying Stars Analysis about 3 years ago.

Reminds me of the time Chiara and I were in Adam’s Peak in Sri Lanka, and the struggle we had to get to the top.

Adam’s Peak, also known as Sri Pada, is sacred to four major religions.

There is a footprint near the peak of the mountain. For us Christians and Islams, we believe that it is Adam’s, made when he first set foot on earth after he was cast out of Paradise. For the Buddhists, the footprint belongs to Buddha. For the Hindus, it is Shiva’s.

I remember that we left Ratnapura (where we went crystal hunting) about 10 pm, intending to be at the base of the mountain by 2 am.

Research said the climb took about four hours up and down. Chiara and I decided that it would be easy and doable.

The drive getting to Adam’s Peak was torturous. Every stretch was a hairpin turn, much sharper and tighter than Kennon’s. Some parts of the road were very narrow, allowing only one car to pass. The driver had to go really slow.

Around midnight, I was jolted awake opened my eyes; Chiara was still sleeping.

I looked around and it felt like icy cold water had been poured all over me. I was suddenly very scared.

We were the only car on a strange road. With a stranger driving us. In a strange country. At midnight. Very very dark. No cell phone signal.

What if the car broke down? What if the driver decided to bring Chiara and I elsewhere and we were never found again? What if they had monsters like we had our aswangs? (My research said people in Ratnapura left candles outside their homes at night to ward off bad spirits). What had I been thinking? But then, at the next hairpin turn, there was a car in front of us. Like a balm, it soothed my anxiety. And then at the next turn, another car came behind us.

I felt our angels sent us our convoy right at those moments to assure us we were okay.

We reached the base of Sri Pada at 2 am. There were many others there. Young, old, foreigners. I saw 2 or 3 young Sri Lankan girls in high heels.

About 20 minutes up, there was a group of rowdy young men so we decided to walk faster. That was our first mistake. We lost our breath and got tired faster.

Our second mistake? We sat down to rest. It was harder to stand up and continue walking after sitting awhile.

The supposedly 2 hour climb was now 3 hours. Every person we met when asked said, “Just 10 more minutes.” But we’d been told that more than 6 times, and we were stlll climbing!

The sky was beginning to lighten, and we still couldn’t see the top. Our muscles were aching. Chiara said even the muscles she didn’t know she had were aching. And we were really, really tired.

There was no question of giving up. You don’t give up on a sacred site.

So I just focused on putting one foot in front of the other, not looking up. Just focused on my breath, the inhale and the exhale. My thoughts were a litany of the things I was grateful for.

Finally, thirty minutes after sunrise, after more than 4 hours of climbing and sometimes crawl-