The Second Mountain, and Our Journey to Freedom

In a 2019 New York Times column, author David Brooks provided an essay on his book entitled: The Second Mountain: The Quest For a Moral Life. 

David begins by describing the first mountain many of us climb. The focus here is on being sensible, meeting expectations, and achieving the usual success metrics that we believe will bring us fulfillment. So we get a traditional education, choose a stable career, start a family, plan for retirement, etc.

These first mountain "hustling years" as David puts it are "powerfully shaped by our individualistic and meritocratic culture". We care about individual wins, status, and accumulation as we keep score of our progress and continue that proverbial climb up the ladder. 

But then for many, something happens that leads to a reckoning of sorts. Perhaps it's a failed business. A lost job. An illness or death of a loved one. Even a pandemic. Or perhaps everything actually went according to plan, but the promised feelings of happiness and fulfillment and purpose were not realized. This is when the crisis begins.

As David writes "Life had thrown them into the valley, as it throws most of us into the valley at one point or another. They were suffering and adrift"

For those who are broken open in this way, there comes a realization: That first mountain wasn’t my mountain.  

David writes: "The theologian Paul Tillich wrote that suffering upends the normal patterns of life and reminds you that you are not who you thought you were. The basement of your soul is much deeper than you knew. Some people look into the hidden depths of themselves and they realize that success won’t fill those spaces."

And that's when the second mountain appears.

He continues: "If the first mountain is about building up the ego and defining the self, the second is about shedding the ego and dissolving the self. If the first mountain is about acquisition, the second mountain is about contribution."

For those who may be thinking about their second mountain, or have already begun the climb, or are near the top – we welcome you to explore the Conscious Business Master Program

This program developed by the Conscious Business Institute gives you the inner capacity and the practical business and leadership approaches for a new world of increasing second mountain individual seekers and organizations.  

You will work on your own consciousness and then be guided through the Conscious Business methodology for creating positive relationships, engaged teams, purpose-driven cultures, and strong Corporate Social Responsibility programs.

Learn more: https://consciousbusinessinstitute.com/MasterProgram/