Presence of Greatness

Nine hundred feet above sea level isn’t very high.  The earth’s highest point is over thirty two times higher than where I currently sit atop England Mountain.  But at the moment, 900 is a pretty nice high.

It’s been a beautifully crisp morning spent outdoors on what seems to be the transition where winter’s decay gives way to spring anew.  There’s a chill in the air.  The ground is covered in dry, brown leaves.  Above, branches abound with translucent green sprouts of warmth’s resurrection.  

I sit in the presence greatness.  Amid a sea of survivors.  Trees that have outreached the competition, whose roots firmly grip the pristine mountaintop soil, snaking finger-like around boulders and competing roots squeezing a tight hold on the earth.  They are survival victors; pillars of the forest and provide the canopy under which I’ve been exploring all morning.  In their immobility is their greatness.  Patient and deliberate, trees achieve their prominence through unwavering focus, one growth ring at a time.

Some find wisdom and inspiration gathered together at other places on Sunday mornings.  For me though, a walk alone in the woods is a mental cleansing that’s as good as it gets.  Wandering freely under an ancient canopy through decay and rebirth provides a wealth of inspiration and wisdom.

My head has cleared on this beautiful Sunday morning spent atop England Mountain in the presence of greatness.