I hiked 6 miles this weekend through some land we own out in the country.

The footing was not easy - lots of snowy paths, slippery lanes, soggy trails.

But the scenery took my breath away, so the slogging was worth it.

The photo at the top of this post is one I took that day. I hiked into an old forested area and could feel the hush of the air, the atmosphere darkened, the trees almost whispered their own words ...

"Sublime," I thought. "How sublime."

This quote I stumbled across pretty much sums up my experience:

Sublime places repeat in grand terms a lesson that ordinary life typically introduces viciously: that the universe is mightier than we are, that we are frail and temporary and have no alternative but to accept limitations on our will; that we must bow to necessities greater than ourselves…

This is the lesson written into the stones of the desert and the ice fields of the poles.

So grandly is it written there that we may come away from such places not crushed but inspired by what lies beyond us, privileged to be subject to such majestic necessities.

The sense of awe may even shade into a desire to worship.

Alain de Botton, b. 1969

I did worship in that moment.

I acknowledged how frail and temporary I am; that I have limitations.

I was not crushed, but inspired.

Privileged to be subject to such majestic necessities.

de Botton perfectly captured the moment for me; my sanctuary of the soaring pines.

May you, this week, seek sublime places in this world.

They are everywhere!