Taking in Aspen, Colorado

The mountains encircle me, pushing me closer to the deep blue sky entwisted with clean clouds. The soothing sound of the creek has overtaken the hustle-bustle of traffic, city life, and complexity. The clouds float by, without a care in the world, not late for meetings, fighting the commute or picking the wrong line at the grocery store. The cool, crisp air invigorates the lungs previously filled with smog and construction haze. Nature had no schedule. The stream flows onward, the birds continue to build their nest, the sun will see another glorious morning. This world, this paradise is always here, yet until we experience it, we fail to acknowledge its existence. In one day your life can turn upside down. Will we let it? Or, like the familiar pack rat in us, will we clutch our pasts and deny improvement, purification and growth? Aspen has engorged me, swallowed me up with its beauty and tranquility. Breathe in, open the eyes, listen, feel the power of the world's environmental creations.