Clarity Rediscovered

I was on a trip to the mountains in upper Northern California towards Nevada a couple of weeks ago and as I made my way up away from the valley floor, the landscape and temperature began to change quite dramatically along with the higher elevation.  I must have said wow to myself multiple times as I traveled the winding road, while the vivid green colors of the pine trees and lush vegetation choreographed the rest of my drive.  I stopped to overlook a canyon at one point as there was even a more dramatic effect with the added cliff side views as I stared out into this majestic wonder.  In that moment, I could only say the words "thank you"for opportunity to experience the beauty around me. One side effect of this day adventure, was the feeling of a sense of clarity that can only come from realizing my place in this world, compared to the more formidable lifetime that nature has been in existence.  The stern pine trees towering over my head appeared to whisper quiet secrets that only the nature animals could understand, when the gentle breeze wafted through its branches.  As I got back on my truck to continue the rest of my journey, I contemplated to myself how the simple joy of this experience would be archived in my memories for the days ahead when the lack of having a clarity can sometimes create a fog that is slow to lift in my head.  The other byproduct of having these experiences is that my sincere appreciation for these moments has grown so much more now that I am older.  The reason for that can be partially attributed to the fact that as younger person, I failed to stop and be in the moment.  In the back of my mind I also often wonder, how many more times will I have the privilege to have these experiences.  Time goes by quicker than we think it does and our ignorance of youth tells us that we have so much more time than we actually do.  We also get caught up in our busy lives full of career driven ambition and meandering thoughts, that we tend to minimize the importance of living to appreciate all of the smaller things.  I have a fervent wish for young people in that they are able to wake up to the importance of living in a clear and more present tense at a much younger age.  Sometimes I do talk to young folks and find the gem of one of them who already knows what I am talking about.  For those very rare instances, I simply cheer them on as I believe that they are so much further ahead of the game of life, than I ever was at their age.  Life can challenge us at times and after the fact, we realize that there was a lesson to be learned from that experience.  It is sometimes not until much later from coming through a trial, that we have a clarifying moment.  This is why I so appreciate the ability to have rediscovered clarity in the periods of life where one simply can enjoy the experience, without a needed trial of some sort.  I also hope that you are able to find the opportunities that exist in finding your own moments to recharge and clear your head.  By greeting what comes at you with a grateful heart, you will find that more of those instances will find their way to you and with that I believe that your ability to enjoy the lucidity that can refresh the view to the path that you were meant to walk.