Growing up near the ocean was a blessing. Being able to hike in the mountains is also a blessing. Your lungchanging...ing and your body converting that depleted oxygen to help you up mountains... A fascinating process.
In the last 12 hours we climbed up 4000 feet and then dropped down 7000 feet. We stood on one of the highest peaks in Southern California and could look out at the cloud cover on one side while the other presented you the desert floor 10,000 feet below. Descending what seems like 100 switch backs , one wonders where you'll end up when you can see another switchback below.
When you can see vast distances everything can seem smaller, even you. I wondered today about the past and how one can define a life. Is it about the mountains we've scaled? The valleys we've crossed? The dishes we've created in the kitchens? These experiences we get in life are all unique, it doesn't matter how many times you've run the same trail or how many times you've baked your favorite pie, each time there is a distinct and individual experience.
I have learned and am reminded everyday that less can be more. Everything I carry on my back needs to have a use. There can't be a just in case attitude for everything out here because the environment around you is constantly in motion. Your body is in motion everyday. No matter how repetitive your steps seem, each one has its own quality to it.
And as I sit here back at sea level, about to go up in the mountains once again I see that my life is ever changing. Take the good and the bad because we all can make a choice on how we choose to live.. and that too is a blessing.
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