Mount Soledad - San Diego, CA

Mount Soledad. The mountain of solitude. Solitude: being alone, seclusion, a lonely place or life. The definition of solitude might seem unpleasant, a life of sorrow, a life of emptiness, but I beg to differ. When I reached the top of that mountain, there was not one feeling of being lonely, not one feeling of being secluded. It was a feeling of freedom, a feeling of thankfulness to God for allowing me to live in such a great country, a feeling of awe for what a beautiful world God had created.

As you look out onto the Pacific Ocean and see how beautiful it is, you cannot help but look a little bit lower to see the city of La Jolla, and the surrounding city of San Diego. At this moment the world drew back into me and I realized that this place of solitude, this very ground I was standing on is actually the ground where we were secluded from the rest of the world.

Now why, or should I say what, were we being secluded from? Secluded from the everyday troubles the average American goes through everyday. Secluded from the news of the war in Iraq. Secluded from financial problems, marital problems, problems at work, problems with life. The "mountain of solitude" provided a place for people to appreciate what we have in life, appreciate the beauty that surrounds us and place to thank God for what He has done.

There was something about Mount Soledad that made it feel,....spiritual. Look up and you will see why. A good number of site seeing tourists were at the foot of a gigantic white cross, snapping pictures at this amazing memorial monument. Wait... did I say "memorial". Yes I did. Mount Soledad is a memorial, dedicated to the men and women who had served our country in the time of war. As you walk closer and closer to the cross, you start to realize that at the foot of this enormous cross, pictures and biographies were plaqued out into the stairwall of the monument. Spiritual indeed.

As the sun had just set and it was time to go, my friends and I started to walk back to our cars. Looking back out onto the Pacific Ocean, a ray of light broke through the clouds. What an amazing sight that was. I promised myself that one day I will be back to Mount Soledad and relive the seclusion it provided me that day.