This Way to the Trail!

Lake Alpine Lakeshore Trail

Obvious signs are always helpful. Knowing where you stand and where you are headed can save time. Being able to identify what you see or hear can be beneficial. It may even save your life! But what if you don't know something right away? Can't put your finger on it or the  problem at hand seems much too large? It can be frustrating. Being frustrated can lead to giving up. I learned this week to take a different approach. It's an approach to understanding that doesn't involve an all-or-nothing scenario. It includes both knowing and not knowing and as it turns out, this approach works just fine!

The above shot was taken earlier this week on my hike. At one point, shortly after going up the hill shown above (the path being well marked!), I had to cross over a smallish creek. As I stood on the newly built foot bridge I took a minute to look around. I saw a creek and trees and rocks. That was it I thought. Then I started to consider things. There must be so many things going on that aren't obvious to me because I don't know about them; haven't been educated about the life around me.  Animals and insects and plant life must all be engaged in some kind of activity that I can't see. To further confound things I began to think about how everything had gotten there. Where did the animals come from? How long had the trees and bushes and grasses been there? What or who was there before me? I was so pleased to have this new bridge to use. Who had installed it and when did it happen? Did those people know that people like me would be grateful that it had been installed? I had a lot of questions in the space of just a few moments!

As I continued on up the hill and back onto the path I marveled at what I didn't know. What I couldn't see or begin to understand.  I knew a little bit about the life around me but not nearly enough. To what could I attribute everything that I saw as well as the things that I didn't see? Not knowing made me feel in an emotional way that I was in the presence of something much greater than what I could see. A force beyond anything that I could conceive. Call it whatever you want but for me, it's a sign of God's presence. It was a reminder to me to be grateful for the obvious and the not so obvious. And a reminder that it is OK to both know and not know. Stand in awe and be amazed!

Libby