Sometimes it’s just too much, isn’t it?
You go out for a simple sunset and come back, your face glowing from your seat in the cleft of the rock.
Last Saturday, I flew along the Himalayas to get a glimpse of Mount Everest. I had no way of knowing what was coming. Who could expect it? Massive, towering, and majestic mountains surrounded the plane. Shane and Shane’s song Fringes was playing in my mind along with Rachmaninov’s Vespers. I kept thinking, “If these are the fringes, then who can stand to look on his face?” Perhaps that is why he covers us with his hand.
That evening, I watched the sun set over the same hills, barely blinking in an effort not to miss a single shadow or ray. A few times my eyes clenched shut on their own, as if to say, “We can’t take anymore in.” My heart pounded in my chest for over an hour as hills faded and reappeared, clouds broke apart, and the world grew dark.
I’m reading Annie Dillard’s book, “Pilgrim at Tinker Creek” currently, the inspiration for the brief thoughts shared here, and she talks about the tree with lights in it. About herself as a bell, once struck, that stands resounding. I feel my spirit reverberating from that night, trembling at the magnitude and depth of beauty. Overcome by it all.
You and your beautiful writing are really making me want to make a trip over there! I love hearing about it, Kari!