Emerald Mountain

I recently enjoyed a sunset on the side of Emerald Mountain with a newlywed couple that had come to visit me in my home in the Colorado Rockies. With my limited amount of light perception I was able to enjoy the intense sapphire blue sky I only seem to find up in the high country. While enjoying the panoramic view that included such places as Thunder Ridge, Eagle Cliff, and other distant peaks my friends noticed that there were nearly a dozen hummingbirds flying in a frenzy above us. It was such a peaceful setting that one could only wonder why a hummingbird wouldn’t perch itself in a nearby Ponderosa Pine and enjoy God’s splendor along with us. While nature certainly has different perogatives than their human counterparts I couldn’t help but compare the birds’ frenzy to the average tourist that wanders up to my home during the summer season. Flitting around from spot to spot, snapping a quick photo here and there, and buying a few souvieners before returning to their nests back home.Do these busy little birds truly get a sense of peace and serenity from the mountains as I do? Do they smell the wet foliage in the morning dew? Do they gently run a fingertip over the delicate flower that grows far above the treeline? Do they hear the owl call from its perch deep in the montane forest? Though I am blind I never ceased to be amazed by the glorious majesty of the Rocky Mountains and other natural gems. Not too deeply hidden in these snow covered peaks, winding streams and rivers, and cool dark forests is a whole treasure-trove of life lessons. Were mankind not meant to love and enjoy the world around us then we would all be blind, deaf, and otherwise numb to our surroundings. As the young mule deer enjoys a cool sip of water from the stream, so we enjoy a hot cup of coffee while watching a beautiful sunrise over the eastern horizon. As the beaver puts the finishing touch on a dam that will shape the surrounding land, so we take satisfaction in a hard day’s work. As the black bear snuggles in its cave for a long winter slumber, so we snuggle up to a loved one in front of a crackling hardwood fire in a cabin far from the turmoil of civilization. A forest fire rages, wiping out a forest and yet from the ashes new life spawns. From the ashes of our past mistakes, new opportunities arise. Though I am blind my eyes are wide open to the beauty, magic, and life experience the natural world around me has to offer. I do not travel to the mountains, I journey through the mountains. Only by slowing down and truly opening all your senses to a wild place will you find the true peace you were meant to exist in. Be not the flitting hummingbird, be instead the perched owl.