High Country

I can echo Judy Warner's words of calm, peace, and not sweating the small stuff. My week at Journey to Center is always punctuated by daily walks to a chapel at the top of a "small" mountain on the property of our Peaceful Valley Lodge. The "small" is relative to the 14,000-foot peaks all around us. My morning hike takes about 10 minutes. At the top, I stand at the brink of a cliff and look out at the higher peaks, which are truly breathtaking. So I stand and breathe, and reach my arms up in the air like Julie Andrews in "The Sound of Music," reaching for the mountains in the distance, the hillsides covered with aspen all around me, and the hawks flying above.

The view changes each day. Sometimes the distant mountains can't be seen because of mist or clouds. The final walk of my visit revealed the 14,000-footers were covered with snow. You never know what you'll find, which is lovely and part of the journey.

Back home now, I am endeavoring to keep my daily practice strong. I don't have the mountain vistas, but I do have the reminder that each day presents something new. Like the view from the chapel, I don't know what each day will bring, but I can bring my best self to the day, reach for it, and enjoy the journey.