Essay Example on Climbing the Second Mountain: A Guide to Living a Meaningful Life

In the book, "The Second Mountain," David Brooks, the author explores four different commitments that give life a purpose and meaning, commitment to a vocation, a spouse and family, to community and philosophy (Brooks, 2019). This book is one of the materials that help us to lead and live a more meaningful life, and the two mountains are used as a metaphor, the valley between the mountains represents people's potentials of the life course. In the introduction, Brooks explains the first mountain where life is centered on personal achievements and training, which includes things in life such as choosing a career, getting an education and trying to develop an identity of oneself. This paper, therefore, analyses what the second mountain is all about and how we can climb it.

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The second mountain acts as a memoir featuring how we can live better lives of social commitment. The author dramatically explores the effects of individualism on social connections. From his perspective, individualism is a tool that provides a philosophy of life in which individuals are offered personal freedom; people will not have to live under pressure of religious institutions or political leaders. The author identifies individualism as a setback to social connections in society.

The second mountain is characterized by self-giving and individual centeredness; people living in the second mountain can find joy, something more profound than happiness as presented in the first mountain. Brooks defines joy as a way of transcending oneself and moving to serve others (Brooks, 2019).

People who find their life not satisfying in the first mountain are moved to climbing the second mountain to look for something more than happiness. From this book, we learn that an individual's life is a process that involves other participation in achieving the best, social connections help one to achieve their dreams and develop self-identity. The second mountain, therefore, remains the only choice for those who want to explore more of their potentials and find joy rather than just happiness. The valley between mountains is essential for the life process as depicted by the author, and it is a step of self-reevaluation and suffering; this is where a person can find the purpose and the meaning of life. With strength and endurance, we can overcome these challenges and start climbing the second mountain.

The second mountain is an advance step of life that is characterized by freedom and the ability to turn away all the pressures of culture and pave the way for the individual victory of success (Brooks, 2019). The rewards of climbing the second mountains are much more meaningful and staying than in the first mountain, and they include money, power, consumerism, fame, individualism, self-interest, finding better relationships, embracing responsibility, creating a better life, and commitment.

Climbing the second mountain requires one to have passed through the first mountain and the valley, therefore it does not mean that one has to reject the first mountain because it is a journey. The first mountain builds a person's ability to endure more and learn the essence of life, for those who manage to overcome the challenges of the valley make their way to achieving their destiny in the second mountain. The first mountain prepares one for life expansion, and it is a phase of satisfaction and generosity.

Climbing the second mountain however is a bit different as it involves intensive modification of significant elements of the first mountain., some aspects of the first mountain play an essential role to climbing the second mountain, it involves the incorporation of certain parts used in the first mountain to find rewards in the second mountain. One must consider that climbing this mountain involves severe challenges of life that will help one to realize their identity, potentials, and abilities. Brooks uses some of his life experiences, such as being divorced, to proceed, he had to conduct self-examination (Brooks, 2019). The experiences act as examples of the people in the second mountain. It is a depiction of features of the mountain, how to climb, and how people think in the second mountain.

The philosophy and faith part of the book explores Brooks' gratitude for a conservative lifestyle (Brooks, 2019). Conservative philosophy and spirituality are identified as a doorway into different thinkers. People need to consider social connections and spirituality to succeed in climbing the second mountain. Without social connection, societal problems tend t increase. Individualism is an appealing reward and vision of life; however, when this becomes a leading life philosophy in the entire society, it will lead to many problems (Brooks, 2019). The outcomes result from our focus on ourselves than commitments to the building, deepening, and maintaining our social relationships in society. The second mountain, therefore, requires more social connections and building the community to reduce societal problems.

A sense of belonging and connection to the neighborhood serves a significant role in climbing the second mountain. Instead of living a life that is characterized by self-centeredness, it is crucial to consider the life of service that results in self-transcendence and, eventually, joy. Happiness is more beneficial and appealing when it lasts; for one to begin climbing the second mountain, there must be able to focus on commitment to finding more rewards rather than happiness and material benefits. It does not imply that one has to give up on following happiness because, in the second mountain, one can enjoy the fulfillment of their goals and desires and get more benefits. Joy is much more fulfilling than happiness because it is more profound and lasts long; this is a result of embrace features of the second mountain, such as social connections, commitment to family, and community.

Reference

Brooks, D. (2019). The second mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life.