"The days began to blur as Jason marched northward into the soaring mountains. At first he had frequently paused to admire the jaw-dropping vistas of rugged cliffs, flittering cascades, chiseled ridgelines, hidden lakes, and craggy peaks...
"But eventually the postcard panoramas became so common-place that he began to lose the ability to view them with fresh eyes. Instead of basking in the beauty he started to focus on how steep the trail was to the next rise, or how close the narrow path ran along the brink of the cliff up ahead, or how far the way had to twist and wind to cross a relatively short distance.
"There seemed to be no end to the mountains. No matter how high they climbed, when peering ahead or back or off to either side, only more rocky slopes and stony crests remained in view..."
Do you ever feel like this?
There was a time when life was views and sunrises.
There was an awe and a wonder to everything you saw, heard, felt, tasted.
Time marched on and your focus moved from the beautiful valley to the trail you're on.
You made note daily, hourly, of how rocky, narrow, steep your road seems.
And after years of watching the dirt as you kick it, you can't see the mountains for their beauty but as big stacks of dirt.
I don't know if this is what Brandon was trying to say. I think there is a decent chance that he was just writing human nature. It's a decent summary of long-term hiking. But I'm glad it made me stop and ponder life for a minute. It might be time for me to take a deep breath and look around with new eyes and see the wonder around me.
Have you been inspired lately?
