Burdens Lost
Today, the scent of spring on the rainy wind took me back to the days spent hiking last year, remembering the warmer days in the wild high country. Hiking up here on the spiny ridges of the White Mountains, I’ve learned it inverts the spirit because you may look down into the treetops, rather than up. Maybe such views aren’t unlike the feelings described by astronauts as they gazed at our planet from space and felt their significance shrink and their soul swell? Even standing on a small mountain, the world of humanity and its problems disappears for a while beneath the trees and the alpine mists, and I love that. Don’t we crave it? Don’t we NEED that?
On this particular hike, the alpine mist was the special bit of magic that swept in right at sunset and transformed the valley before me into a conflagrant, ravenous oil painting. I was alone in the painting, standing on the rocks until dark. I will never forget that night. I hiked down carefully in the dark, carrying with me this photograph which I’ve kept to myself for for 5 months. Today, the springy scents that came with the changing weather convinced me it was time to share this at last. When I stand on a mountain like this, all my burdens seem to fall away.
I hope it makes your soul swell just a little bit as we all prepare with eagerness for the long-awaited warm season!
To purchase this print, contact us! (We plan to make the print available in the online store in the coming weeks.)
Cheers,
Shaun
