Perspective

During our ride near the Tetons this summer I carried my camera and stopped pretty much whenever I wanted to capture the beauty that surrounded me.  It was stunning at every turn.  At one point the Tetons were framed perfectly by the trees along the path and I thought "love it" so of course I stopped and pulled my camera out.  The thing is by the time I stopped the tree that had so perfectly framed the image I was admiring was now blocking the view, in fact it was covering the mountain completely.  I was a little struck by the idea that this tree that was only about 20-30 feet high was completely blocking this majestic mountain that is 13,776 feet high (I checked).  How is that even possible?  How could something so small and seemingly insignificant cover completely something so massive?  The tree was right there, so close I could touch it, it became the immediate obstacle, the focus of my attention.  The enormous mountain on the other hand was at the current moment not even visible even though I knew it was there. The difference, PERSPECTIVE.  I just needed to change my perspective, my vantage point.  A short ten feet further down the path the view once again opened up to me. I wondered to myself how often I allow something small and insignificant to block what is most important to me?  What blocks my happiness, joy, my vision of eternity?

When I think about my own personal "trees",  I wonder if I have been focused on the trees for so long  that I don't even remember what my mountain looks like.  I don't remember that it is beautiful, and majestic, that it makes me feel small and simple and yet at the same time a part of something bigger than myself.  I don't remember that the rough and jagged edges of the mountain are part of what makes is beautiful and unique.  I don't remember that the sun can shine on that mountain and make it glow.  I can hardly remember that this is my mountain.  Mine, it's mine not because I own it but because it is my goal, my view, what I know is possible.  I am in need of a change in perspective.   I have a choice to make, I can cry because I can't see my mountain NOW or I can change, I can move forward and gain a new perspective, a new vantage point and remember that the view of the mountain is worth it and will always be worth it.