A dark, plodding outlook can be a waste of a good day. No good can come of it. Sometimes I need a mental nudge to move to a spiritual standpoint. If I’m not there, I have to find a way to get there, because I know that where I stand mentally impacts the quality of life and of health. So, I’d better get going.
The San Luis Obispo area, where I live in California, has this unique geographical feature of seven morros—volcanic mountains—marching in a row through the town and into the Pacific Ocean at Morro Bay. One of our favorites to climb is Bishop’s Peak, right on the edge of town. From the street you see the mountain looming above. The path up is strenuous, but as you climb, you get a much different view. Halfway up, where the meadows break and the trees and big rocks take over, is a lovely little oak grove providing a shady place to sit, catch your breath, and enjoy a little picnic (if you’ve been so clever as to bring one).
But keep on climbing, and as you get to the top, you get a far broader perspective. You see the outcome of geologic forces in the other morros stretching out in front of you, and when you see the Pacific Ocean in the distance, you begin to remember your lessons on plate tectonics. On a really clear day, you can see the curvature of the earth. The higher you go, the more you see.
