Reflection

The cool mountain breeze caressed the pines and aspens, and then, silence, deafening silence. They say when you lose one of your senses the others compensate and become keener. Perhaps this is why everything seemed to have more depth tonight.

In times like these a man can think about his life, about purpose, about where he is going and where he has been.

He sat quietly gazing at the snow-covered mountain before him, noticing it's perfect reflection on the calm lake below. Reflection, he said the word to himself. A man should reflect on where he's been from time to time. Not dwell upon the past but inspect what he's done or hasn't done and learn from it, use it.

I tell you, a man can feel more isolated in a room full of people than standing alone in country like this. Nature has no hidden agenda, plays no favorites, it asks no questions. It does however give answers. It has a healing way about it. That mountain is in no hurry for me to finish contemplating it. Those pines down there, they don't need to rush off for a meeting. They just sit there contently listening to my thoughts.

He picked up a rock from the ground, not just any rock, a good, flat, skipping rock. It was about two inches in diameter with soft rounded edges. Eyeing the lake, he picked a spot to the right of the mountain and let it fly. It skipped happily three, four, five times, and then seemed to disappear into the soft colors of the horizon.

Ripples, ripples caused by a single, tiny stone, they moved across the water until eventually meeting the shore. Amazing how one small stone can affect such a large body of water. What affect am I having on the world around me? Am I making ripples, or waves, or am I in stagnant water? That rock, it didn't try to make those ripples on that water. It had no conscious knowledge of the affect it had. I reckon everything we do, affects the world around us. But, we are conscious of our actions, and can change the things we do, to make a more positive impact with our ripples. A man can truly think out here.

Thanks for the talk, snow-capped peak. Thanks for the ear, patient forest. Thanks for the time of reflection, cool mountain lake. We'll talk again real soon...