Last month I went to Jackson,
Wyoming for a family gathering. Every day we hiked up one of the mountains that
tower over the town. There’s a point on the trail where you can look out across
the valley to the mountain on the other side of Jackson. My eye was drawn to a
large gash at the base of the mountain, and I asked my sister, “What’s
happening over there?” She replied, “Walgreens.”
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| Can you see the gash? |
My brain snapped and crackled as
I tried to reconcile the size of the gash with the smallness of the buildings
all around, and then I realized that the developers must have been pushing the
mountain back to create more room in the valley floor. I felt righteous anger
rising in me about this assault on the mountain. Then I realized how crazy that
was (what business is it of mine? I don’t even live here. I don’t know the
actual circumstances, etc.).
I lifted my eyes, and slowly
turning in a circle said, “Katie, take your attention off that tiny little flaw
in the landscape and put your attention on the magnificent beauty all around
you.” What was all around me was a hillside bursting with spring wildflowers, a
sky of beautiful cloudscapes, some people I loved, and the majestic Tetons
anchoring it all.
How easy it is to focus on the
little problems and miss the larger picture of the magnificent gift that is
life.
