As you've probably figured out by now, one of my favorite things about our house in Colorado Springs is that we live on the west side, thus extra close to the mountains. And one of the best outdoor features of the city is Garden of the Gods, a free public park with incredible views and a lot of great hiking trails, only a ten minute drive from our house.
It's always swarmed with tourists in the summer, but not so the rest of the year. Especially on the Saturday after a large snowstorm.
Despite the snow on the ground, the temperature was close to fifty degrees, so it was the perfect morning to explore.
I struck out with no particular destination in mind, and discovered this gorgeous trail.
And while traipsing through the park, seeing only one other person the entire time I was on this trail, I began to realize what was so wonderful about this experience. It was the feeling of being completely alone, held in juxtaposition with the sense of being one part of the collective.
It was an aloneness that had nothing to do with being lonely.
The aloneness was a blissful solitude, knowing that the only sounds I heard were the crunch of my boots on hard-packed snow, the chirping songs of birds in the nearby trees, and the occasional breath of wind.
And the powerful sense of the collective came from the knowledge that the snow had been tamped down by dozens of boots before mine, by other souls seeking that perfect solitude of nature.
Every inhale was energizing, every exhale a prayer of gratitude.
May you find reassurance today in solitude, while feeling a profound sense of being held up by our collective humanity.
"It was an aloneness that had nothing to do with being lonely." I like that a lot.
ReplyDelete(I don't think it needs to have so much to do with romantic relationships, but have you seen this? http://mic.com/articles/134348/these-drawings-perfectly-demonstrate-the-beauty-of-single-life-just-in-time-for-v-day#.0PyTPCKuQ)