Tuesday, August 4, 2026

Tuesday, August 4, 2026

Month 8, “Mindfulness and Travel” is dedicated to traveling within the country and around the world. I’d like to share with you how I discovered awe and beauty in American National Parks. 

While trekking in Sedona, Arizona my fleeting thoughts subsided amidst the fiery, awesome, sacred red rock mountains. Other worldly natural beauty felt like possessing some sacred power. I breathed in the sage-scented mesas and walked on orange-dusted pathways. The sun scorched my skin and frequently made me close my eyes. But my deeper Self awakened coalescing with surrounding spirituality. The magnificent Cathedral and Bell Rocks mesmerized. The cliffs, mesas, and fringes of juniper forests set against searing blue sky impressed.

Taking our fill we continued our bus ride toward Grand Canyon, arriving at our cottage late at night. Next morning we rose early and realized that the cottage was only a few hundred feet from the view of the Grand Canyons. Hot cups of coffee warmed our hands as we took satisfying sips and settled on a viewing bench. Many miles in the distance, at a 180-degree angle, we witnessed hundred shades of gray. 

A sheen of orange in the eastern sky announced the arrival of the sun. Its radiance replaced distant mist over the canyons. Slowly, trees came into view. Then, the tips of the peaks of the canyons. It was as if the earth was being born.

The golden orb first painted the peaks. Then it lavishly bathed the earth from top to the bottom in orange gold. Everything – the canyons, the trees: blue spruce, firs, pines, junipers, and the trees I did not recognize – glistened in shades of viridian. Sunrays penetrated the gorge below, making visible the cascading Colorado River.

Suddenly, I feel at one with the sun and the trees and the river gorge. One with all that exists. The only sound I hear is my exhalation and inhalation. Everything looks luminous. Everything is absolutely quiet. Eternal silence. I feel one with the earth, one with all. I feel immortal. After several moments but what seems like an eternity, I hear birds first, then the people. 

My ego returns. A thought flashes through my mind, this panoramic happening is repeated ad infinitum, every single morning! And the thought makes my heart sing. At that moment, I fall head over heels in love with Mother Nature, with the whole cosmos.