Listen to Mountains

 

Writer, Ursula K. Le Guin was asked, "Who is the most important person you ever met?"  She replied, "A mountain. I discovered that Tamalpais was at the very center of my being." 

Etel Adnan fell in love with Mount Tamalpais, the first vertebra of the backbone that stretches all the way to Tierra del Fuego. She found herself,  “left with the sort of wonder that the sense of eternity always carries with it,” with a “feeling of latent prophesy.” The mountain became her muse, which she celebrated and serenaded in a flood of paintings and poetry. 

With Adnan’s insights, the mountain became both object of reverent curiosity and sovereign; both metaphor and not-metaphor.

Etel Adnan: Mount Tamalpais, 1985. (Sursock Museum, Beirut, Lebano

Skinner Butte in Eugene, Oregon inspires with its views of the city and beyond to Spencer Butte's silhouette. 

Eagles nest in high branches. Along the snaking trail, squirrels, hawks, osprey, bluejays, flickers and sparrows share the journey to the top. 

Mind mountains attract daily as a struggle or an insight. Enlightenment arrives from reflection on sensual delights and challenges of nature's experiences. We learn lessons of solitude and climb beyond the fear of falling. In the step-by-step process, we defeat self-doubts. 

A mountain's simplicity and tranquility calm and soothe us into views where blues of sky meet the azure sea.

Take time, when mountains call, to listen to the messages.