Visiting Divinity

"Persistent people begin their success where others end in failure." -Edward Eggleston  I get quotes every morning via email that inspire me.  I didn’t get much sleep last night, but after reading this one I got out of bed and began my trek up the mountain at around 7:45AM.  At first my body started complaining with a tired lethargic mood.  One would think that after all this time my body would no longer whine and complain over hiking.  After all spring is here and I have no more excuse to avoid getting out every morning. Part of me wanted to turn around and head back to my comfortable bed, but the other part (my spirit) remembered the quote and I knew that my persistence would pay off.  So I began to give myself a pep talk out loud, “Come on, Millie, you can do this.  Come on, stop with the overly dramatic whining.  You can have your café con leche when you get back home.”Forty minutes later, on top of the mountain, I found my favorite spot in the world, sitting on my boulder. I found the euphoric moment of bliss. I am reminded of the reason I love the hike just so I can be in nature alone with my thoughts.  Forget the strain I place on my tired body when I have zero energy stored from the night.  Forget the little voice in my head that sounds out everyone’s concern about bears and large mountain cats attacking me while I play through the woods.  Discard all the voices constantly letting me know I can get hurt up there alone.  I know I get so focused on the walk that I don’t hear anything outside of myself, but with persistence everything in possible.  The price of it all is the view from the top.I sat on my rock staring down at the valley covered with a thin layer of mist and the sun trying to peek its way through it.  I felt the presence of God.  I tasted Him on the salt of my lips.  I smelled Him on the smell of my heat and the moisture from the ground. I saw Him in the scenery in front and all around me.  I felt Him on my chilled skin.  These are the moments of clarity and openness to the spirit.  There is nothing like it.  There is no way to translate it from spirit to words.I don’t give up easily.  When I finally walk away from a job, a relationship or a place it is because I’ve exhausted all my energy and persistence.  Sitting up there, on Heaven’s front door, gasping for my lungs to settle down, I found the Divine within.  Each molecule in me stands to receive the wonders of the world.One would think after reading the works of Jung, Socrates, Cayce, Buddha, The Bible, the Dalai Lama, Einstein, Emerson, Thoreau, and so many others that I would not be surprised when these moments visit me; when I feel elated in the openness and unified serenity that connects me to the earth and everyone else.  But, I am still surprised on a daily basis of how small we really are.  I still marvel at my reaction in consciously feeling the universe as part of me.  I still get giddy at the understanding that I am nothing and I am all.  It’s totally awesome.These moments proliferate into everything that I am.  Obviously I can’t live in a hike all day long so the secret is to bring that euphoria into each moment of NOW.  Being present is hard, but like the quote, with persistence all things are conquered.