It's been, I dunno, probably almost 2 months, or something since I've written anything, I can't even remember for sure. It isn't so much that I've lost interest in this site, as I have been periodically checking it, but it's just that... I've just been focused on other things: Art, festivals, travelling, hiking, exploring, and a whole bunch of other stuff. Mostly good. I prefer to talk about good stuff, as much as it might seem like the opposite sometimes.
While I was out visiting family in California, I went to church with my mother. I won't focus on religion or God here, as I'm not even sure blog rules on this site even allow it. But I did vibe with the sermon a lot. I've actually heard her talk about this more than once. She said, that approaching the divine is like being atop a mountain, a blissful, beautiful, and peaceful place, the culmination of a quest. And once atop that mountain, all you want to do is stay there, and once you leave, all you want to do is get back there.
But we are called upon to take those feelings we have, of being on that mountain, and carry them with you and keep them in your heart as we descend and live our lives in the daily grind in the real world.
About a week ago, I took a long hike into the mountains, in an area of the state that isn't as well traveled as some of the more "Famous" areas of the country, like, say, Yosemite or Yellowstone. But it is just as intense and beautiful, and it does take some effort to get there: Driving a dirt road over a pass with a 2000 foot plummet (no guard rail of course, and if you go over the side, well, you would have a good 30 seconds of free-fall.) then navigating more rugged dirt roads. Then, the hike starts innocently enough: a short climb over a quarter mile gives way to endless alpine meadows crisscrossed by a clear stream and ringed with tall mountains. Two stream crossings later, suddenly the mountain comes AT YOU, and it's a mile and a half STRAIGHT UP, which feels like 3 miles, as you gain nearly all of the 1800 foot elevation gain in that stretch. And the climb makes you feel fat and out of shape even if you aren't- because you top out at around 9400 feet above sea level.
Then you get there. Suddenly you see it through the trees: A stunning emerald blue-green alpine lake, ringed with evergreens, and 11,000 foot peaks towering above you. Fish jumping, chipmunks chirping. And you just want to rest, and take it in and never leave. And when you get back to your vehicle, tired and sore, you feel like you really did have a brush with the infinite power of light and creation.
And when you are sitting at your desk at work the next day, sore and tired but strangely at peace, all you want to do is get back there. And the memory of that day stays with you, keeping you content through the week.