“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts” -- Rachel Carson
A night in the mountains always reminds me that humans have our limitations. In the city, it is easy to pretend that our environments can be controlled. Cold? Hot? A thermostat or a blanket soon fixes the problem. Nature is domesticated, designed and shaped by human hands, and found in small, tame doses, shoved into hanging pots on an apartment balcony or surrounded by skyscrapers and concrete in an organized, box-shaped park.
But visit the mountains and the sense of human domination disappears. An evening in the hills stimulates the senses and fills the viewer with awe.
The wind shakes the trees; sometimes they creak and sway so much that it seems as if they will collapse. Their branches bend and brush the air with noises like whisk and whoosh. In winter, great gusts of cold air shake the leaves free and tousle one's hair. People tuck their coats close and wrap wool scarves around their necks. The nighttime sky is clear and devoid of warmth; a frosty glow surrounds the moon. On winter nights like these, the constellations shine like precious, priceless jewels, and the stars seem alive, with their own voices and stories to share. Perhaps that is why the ancient Greeks gave them the names of princesses and brave heroes.
Summer nights have a different character. More clouds fill the atmosphere, and often, the wind is barely noticeable, but crickets serenade with calm, steady chirps and frogs let out low croaks. In these mountains, when darkness covers the hills and little lights appear down in the valley, there are no honking cars, no loud bursts of music, no traffic or smog or flickering neon lights.
Cities and towns have their own charm, but the beauty and power of the mountains will never cease to amaze me. Each time I visit I remember King David's words: "When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor" (Psalm 8:3-5).
While our natural world is powerful and beautiful, its Creator is even more so. May our wonder at his creation never cease, but continue to increase and draw us all closer to him.
