Maybe it’s that I was raised in the “Last Best Place” of Montana that has always enabled me to feel a
more intimate connection to nature. Or perhaps it is just simply that nature,
wherever in the world you find yourself immersed in it, offers visitors a momentary
glimpse of heaven where everything is at peace and the world just seems to be
more comforting and manageable.
One of my favorite quotes about nature is actually found in
the diary pages of Anne Frank. She sums up, more eloquently than I ever could,
how being in nature changes a person and how being in it, is more healing than
any other medicine on earth.
“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy
is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens,
nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and
that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. As
long as this exists, and is certainly always will, I know that then there will
always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be. And I
firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.”
A few days ago I had the privilege of re-immersing myself in
the abundant nature all around me in Montana
and Miss Frank’s quote was the only thing that went through my mind.
With my dad, boyfriend, and a bedload of dirt bikes in tow,
we headed out toward Suller Gulch past Canyon Creek. After riding several miles
up slippery two track trails, we came upon a hillside that I had to blink and
shake my head a few times at to make sure it was real. The entire hill was the
brilliant color of fresh picked lemons. It was covered in thousands of bright
yellow flowers. It absolutely took my breath away. I could’ve run back and
forth through those flowers all day, bending down occasionally to breathe in
their scent.
The glorious golden field |
But we journeyed on.
After several more miles we came around the corner and saw a
parting in the trees. Through them was the most glorious view of rolling green
hills and mountains for as far as the eye could see....and a sky so blue I
couldn’t believe it was real. Standing up on the mountainside and gazing out, I
felt complete and utter peace in my soul. And all of the troubles and
heartaches I left town with were suddenly forgotten. As Anne Frank put it, the
view brought “solace to all troubles.” That peak wasn’t anywhere near the
height of Mount Everest, but on that afternoon
I truly felt on top of the world. I felt happier...and stronger...and more
content with the world. I never wanted to come down from that mountain.
Can see for miles and miles |
I took dozens of beautiful photographs on the ride, but the
ones that remain in my mind and heart are far better. They are the ones that
will sustain me when times get rough in life and I long to be somewhere far
away. As James Barry put it, “God gave us our memories so that we might have
roses in December.” Whenever I feel lost and hopeless and lonely in life, I
will close my eyes and go back to that golden hillside and mountain peak and
find a peace and strength that nothing else can deliver.