I am sitting on our balcony overlooking the Lauterbrunnen Valley and looking up to the Jungfrau glacier. The alps directly in front of me are a salad mix of green colors. A gondola sculpted into the side of the mountain sits below miracle-terracing for avalanche control. How do people build such magnificence? Who had the idea?
I am reading on this balcony in awe. My concentration is good, but every few minutes I look up, outward, and around, because I am so inspired. Brave paragliders float down from the mountain. Some twirl; some float like autumn leaves.
While soaking in the horizon both close and far away, I come upon a paragraph from Jeffery Davis' book Tracking Wonder. He writes:
"I often wonder if vistas and vast horizons magnetize us not only for their beauty but also for what they awaken in us--namely, an openness to possibility. Our eyesight and metaphorical vision expand, as we stand in one spot on land and gaze out toward another spot where earth or water or urban scape meet air, it's as if our present spot is drawn out from our heart to the horizon where we could be. It's stretching out from presence to possibility."
Isn't that gorgeous? Gazing at this amazing landscape is not only peaceful, but it has the potential to stretch us out of our presence into greater life possibilities. Beauty is integral to progression.
The important thing to realize, is that beautiful horizons are everywhere. They are sunrises and sunsets. They are found in cityscapes. Paths and trails are everywhere. We are meant to get out and look beyond our doors and fences.
About thirty years ago, we found a house sitting on a hillside. It needed work. But the view didn't need a thing. Over the years, our family, our friends and visitors have been inspired by the view from our home. I once had a student who walked into the kitchen and exclaimed, "This is why you're so happy."
Indeed.
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