Rocky Mountain High

In years past the ocean has proven to be a means of providing perspective.  While walking on the shore, I can let the waves rush in, receive my troubles, and carry them back to sea.  I most often feel refreshed and renewed after a few mornings on the beach.  The ocean carries that strength and power that resonates within me - we are all connected and my life, my small life, is just a piece of a much larger picture.  A larger picture that is largely unknown to me.

This year - well, this year the ocean helped.  The waves rushed in and tickled my toes.  The current truly tried to provide a sense of peace and balance.  This year the water was lovely.  it was clearer than in years past and... beautiful.  And yet I didn't walk away feeling as refreshed as I would have liked or as I anticipated.  I left the coast realizing that, no matter how small my life is in perspective to the larger picture, there is a lot on my plate!

So this year I am adding mountains to my summer.  I am returning to roots and family and friends.  I am returning to my own past, to some extent, to share with my daughter the delights of wandering through a pine forest and exploring an old river.  We will cook over an open fire and hopefully have s’mores as can only be made on a stick with a flame in the middle of the forest on the side of a mountain.

Perhaps returning to something as solid as the foot hills of the Rockies will provide me with balance.  Where the oceans floor is continually changing to the extent that the sands are shifting beneath my feet, the mountain is solid.  It changes slowly, ever so slowly, leaving one with the impression that it is not really changing at all.

And perhaps that is what I need - the solid nature of the mountain.  The strength of the oaks and the ever green nature of the tall virgin Pines.  Perhaps I need to sleep in the house that nurtured for decades and which echoes with laughter and tears and growth.  perhaps I need to reconnect with my roots - to see from where I started in order to gather the strength I will need to continue my journey forward - to gather the strength I will need to provide my daughter the mountain and the ocean and the fortitude she will need as she journeys forward herself.

I need to breathe mountain air and surround myself with mountain love and family.  So I am headed to the hills to take long walks with my daughter, to walk the family dogs, to listen to the creek  and the wind blowing through the tall pines, and to spend nights under skies that appear nearly black and that are filled with stars that are so big and so close that I have no doubt that they are right there, within reach for those who have the daring to try!    (My daughter and I are two such people)