That time I saw a mountain

I love every inch of my life because every part of it has been hand crafted by me. Even on the crazy and bad days, it’s a crazy bad that I have chosen and love. But the best part of my day is my commute. Surprised? It’s not because I get to walk to the office or have a car that drives me. I take a city bus that’s generally clean but sometimes not, generally comfortable but sometimes too hot or cold, and I can generally get a seat but not always.

The best part is once I get onto the bridge that takes me downtown, the road rises high above the trees and the Duwamish waterway spreads out like a velvet green carpet. I look out in the distance and I see Mt Rainier. Or maybe I don’t. And either way I love it.

See, on the days I do get to see it, I marvel at its size, it’s snowy face and perhaps the fluffy ring of clouds that surround the tip top. But I know that if it was there every day I would stop appreciating it. But no worries there, it’s Seattle. So most days I just see a wall of clouds and have to imagine the stillness and stoic strength of the mountain hiding behind the clouds. I know that if I got to see it every day I’d stop looking. I’d stop seeking and appreciating.

There’s a life metaphor in here that I could belabor with cheesy catchphrases like “you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone” but instead of that, just take a moment to think about your mountain. The surprises built into your day that make life fun and interesting if only we can bother to see them. Will that kooky co-worker wear the same shirt for the 11th day in a row or is the 10th the magic day it gets washed? Will your child complain about breakfast or wow you with a joke about timeshares? We all have these touchstones, these places and times when we pause and see how the world has changed or not changed. Don’t miss it. Even if there’s only clouds to see, don’t stop seeking the mountain.