Mountains are Living Systems

Mountain are living systems that express the fullest extensions of life. Their very existance is a representative of the magnitude of eons whereby natural forces have randomly sculptured an expression of beauty that yields perfection. Giant ridges of rock formations situated harmoniously among a diversity of plants give an image of reality that transcends time and unites the living and nonliving worlds into completeness. It is here that the spiritual energy that flows through the universe can be felt. The make up of this perfection is woven into a web that allows each structural element to be connected and to remove any part would destroy its unity and hence fragment its beauty. Onced fragmented the spiritual flow is disrupted and the ability to be nutured by the wholeness of spirituality no longer becomes as readily available. Therefore it is paramount to move slowly, quietly and softly when within the mountains so as to be able to sense this spirituality that interconnects all factors in this living web.

The trail ascends steeply and I try to keep an even cadence on my mountain bike as I move ever so gradually upward. I relax and cognitively become receptive to the energy that surrounds me. The trees within the mountain forest form randomly dispersed gothic columns that support a magnificent canopy that allows a filtering of light rays to pass through. This serves as a natural cathedral and the filtered light rays connect me to spaces beyond. The solar system, the stars ans the galaxies articulate into a channel of oneness that tends to match the rhythm of my cadence. My movement shifts into transitional and I travel alone the fibers within the mountain web where pain and fatigue diminish and all perception becomes spiritual. Here the unification of my cognitions encourage a renewed awareness of place as an essential element in my life and the simplistic nature of moving slowly clarifies my understanding of my relationship to the mountain environment.

I reach the pavement in Blowing Rock and one street over I join a parade of clean SUVs. Stoned faced individuals stare through windows that act as shields to the outside. For the first time in several hours I feel alone and not in rhythm with the sounds of leaves blowing in the wind or bike tires rolling across loose rocks. The saints of nature vanish from my thought as I race to maintain my space among these machines of "progress". Hope, however is forever present in that tomorrow I will once again climb within nature's cathedral.