When I’m reading a good book, especially a thriller, when
the action gets hot and heavy or an emotional event occurs to the character I
sometimes have to set down the book and let my mind calm before I read on (yes,
I do this when I’m watching DVD’s too).
When reading a piece on physics, scientific theory or philosophy, I will
set it down just to digest what I’ve read, explore the concept(s) and
contemplate perspectives.
When we’re traveling …. I often wish I could hit that pause
button and just let the action, concepts or beauty sink in and then move on.
For example in Glacier National Park (GNP), there was a
moment at the East Glacier Lodge in the morning watching the sunrise while
chatting to a fellow traveler. She was
reflecting on her travels from Florida, and how she usually flies to her
destination, then rents a car and hits the areas of her interest. This time though, she was traveling with a
tour group. She wanted the companionship
of a group, and the organization of the tour.
We discussed the pros and cons of various ways and places to
travel. We then discussed the vagaries
of life and aging. After bidding her
safe travels we went to our room and freshened up for breakfast. I went to the huge balcony off our room and
would have loved to be able to hit the pause button and reflect on the thoughts
rushing through me at the moment. We not only discussed the surrounding beauty,
but the reality of life and the effort it takes to press on. The discussion could have happened in a
philosophy class. Still, we went to
breakfast, packed and hit the road to Rising Sun on the Going-to-the-Sun Road.
Another example was the time we were leaving Glacier
National Park. As we were driving down
the west flank of the Going-to-the-Sun Road we observed mist/clouds of mist
rising over the areas bathed in sun for the first time that day. We had seen the same flank the day before but
that was mid day. This was a whole new
world! The magic of the mist, the
stillness of the mountains, the quiet calling of the birds made me feel like I
could have just pulled up and sat for hours
taking in the magic of the mountains.
We were on a two lane road and even though there are pull offs, we were
on a schedule to find a new place that evening to sleep, so I just took a few
pictures to remind me of the feeling.
One might suggest that the trip, itself, to GNP was putting
the ‘pause button’ on. To be able to
reflect without the helter-skelter demands of the day to day world, hopping in
the car and taking in the beautiful landscape, the villages, the people. I agree that in a small way it is a time
given to reflections and ponderings. Yet
there are so many layers to what’s out there to discover, to observe, to ponder….
Maybe the next time we go to GNP we’ll spend a year there!!
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