A hike down a mountain side through dense forest and thick brush tired me from seeing what was coming up next. The season is spring and the air, still crisp, is warming. So much my focus has been on where to put my next step in hopes I don’t trip over tangled forest floor that I don’t look up until well into the clearing. The wind picks up and lifts my chin to the clouds in a blue sky only moments ago was a speckled lace of tree branch and leaf. The movement is fluid yet slow and growing larger as the white hills above imitate the rocky landscape below. It’s when I look ahead where I see colors deviating from the infinite shades of green and brown I’ve grown accustomed to. Even then, greens are vivid and inviting along with a chorus of neatly shaped petals flashing their color in the wind and sunlight. I never wanted to be lost, yet I hope to never escape the rainbow of textured greens flowing off the horizon. The air translates the scene into a scent complex and smooth but always fresh and unique with ever breath. I finally step forward again, but this time looking down, ahead, around, up, and behind taking in the world I couldn’t imagine stepping into. Energy rushes through me and I run following the waves of the wind.
I think of the mountain and the ridge I came down knowing a place like this couldn’t exist without the a mountain to create a valley of lush beauty and flowing life. I am thankful.