Every day when I start my commute into town–I live in the country–I head north on one of the roads toward a 3-way intersection. At this intersection is a field of many acres that is just starting to turn green again after a horribly dry summer. Past the fields and farms, I can see the Sierra Nevada mountains, some days better than others depending on how hazy it is. I watch these mountains and fields change from hour to hour, from day to day, from season to season. This daily ritual restores some element of perspective that settles my spirit. Some days I even try to fruitlessly capture the richness of these moments with my camera and on those days I’m reminded that it’s okay just to soak in the beauty for that moment, that it doesn’t need to be recorded or catalogued.
Perspective is something that I am constantly seeking. I want mine to be different somehow. When my Mom would let me borrow the camera when I was a kid, I would constantly look for new ways to see things through that lens. I often ended up on my belly or my back snapping photos of the sky or the house or the playground, just looking to see things in a different way.
I have been particularly infatuated with the sky since I can remember. I will sometimes call or text a friend just to tell them to step outside and share a vibrant sunset with me. So then, to explore and climb and fly becomes merely an extension of this part of me that longs to constantly see things from a new perspective. However, I didn’t ever dream of being a pilot or an astronaut or a rock climber. I’m not one of those stories where the heroine just knows deep down in her soul that she’s supposed to change the world and look good doing it. I’m not extraordinary.
I am, though, extraordinarily blessed to have the opportunity and ability to enjoy activities that at once settle my relentlessly restless spirit and allow me to perceive the beauty of changing horizons. There is little more peaceful than to see for 360 degrees around you that place where the sky and land are stitched together and for everything else in life to be quiet for those few moments. I don’t love to skydive because of a rush; I love it because it’s hushed and beautiful and challenging and dynamic all at once.
Expectant of greater things,
We try climbing -
Higher
And Higher;
An effort that costs us much,
Leaving us short of breath
To find only
The ground below is much prettier.
~Phillip Pulfrey, “Mountains” Love, Abstraction and other Speculations
I'm a California native with a deep appreciation for all things active--climbing, camping, skydiving, & learning to run happen to be among my favorites. I rarely sit still except to read or sleep, and I operate on the philosophy that each day deserves to be lived to the hilt. 