Mountain water whether lakes, streams, or waterfalls never fails to enchant me. It is all mesmerizing. I could sit by a stream for hours listening to the quiet splashing of water tumbling over rocks. And I enjoy peaceful lakes where the surface often reflects the beauty of the landscape. Waterfalls, however, are my favorite form of mountain water. Of course, a waterfall, in and of itself, is spectacularly beautiful. I could spend an entire day sitting next to one simply enjoying the sounds it produces as it crashes and cascades over rocks and fallen logs on its way to who knows where. I like to wonder where the water might have originated and where it might be going, and what it is accomplishing along its way. As with streams and lakes, all manner of vegetation and a myriad of creatures are sustained and nourished by the waterfall’s very existence.
Invariably, my mind takes its own vacation leading me to create metaphors relating the mountain’s varied water forms to my own life’s journey. I reflect on times when my life has been as calm and peaceful as a waveless lake serenely reflecting the beauty of the scenery surrounding it. The occasional trout arching up out of the water to catch an unsuspecting insect or a duck quietly paddling across the surface may each create small ripples, but generally all is peaceful and calm.
At other times, however, my life has been like the turbulent waterfall racing and then crashing over ledges, rocks, and fallen logs as it tumbles downward. How did I end up here? Where did this come from? Where will it end? I realize I’ve had no more control over some of the events in my life than a droplet caught up in the waterfall’s descent. The waterfall itself moves too quickly and is far too noisy for my taste! I know that like an individual drop in this waterfall, I am being carried away by a power not of my own to a place not of my choosing. And what am I to do? Complain that I’d prefer to be back on top of the mountain top having only recently been thawed by the sun? Or explain to whatever powers may be that I’d much prefer being where the trout jump and the ducks paddle? No. I am where I am. And not haplessly. I, like each water drop making up the waterfall, am here to fulfill a purpose. Together with each other seemingly insignificant drop, I am part of something wild and beautiful with power beyond my individual ability to create. I am caught up in the act of nourishing the earth, smoothing formerly rough stones, feeding moss and ferns, providing a refuge for the thirsty, and a place of sanctuary for weary souls. I am precisely where I am meant to be. And I am as grateful to be part of a waterfall as I once was on the mountain top or in the placid lake. I am part of creation and am filled with purpose and joy.
QUOTES:
“Grace is finding a waterfall when you were only looking for a stream.” – Vanessa Hunt
“To trace the history of a river or a raindrop is also to trace the history of the soul, the history of the mind descending and arising in the body. In both, we constantly seek and stumble upon divinity, which like feeding the lake, and the spring becoming a waterfall, feeds, spills, falls, and feeds itself all over again.” – Gretel Ehrlich
“As long as I live, I’ll hear waterfalls and birds and winds sing. I’ll interpret the rocks, learn the language of flood, storm, and the avalanche. I’ll acquaint myself with the glaciers and wild gardens, and I will get as near the heart of the world as I can.” – John Muir
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