Wednesday, March 4, 2015

The Mountains Simply Exist

"The secret of the mountains is that the mountains simply exist, as I do myself: the mountains exist simply, which I do not. The mountains have no "meaning," they are meaning; the mountains are. The sun is round. I ring with life, and the mountains ring, and when I can hear it, there is a ringing that we share. I understand all of this, not in my mind but in my heart, knowing how meaningless it is to try to capture what cannot be expressed, knowing that mere words will remain when I read it all again, another day."
- Peter Mattiessen, The Snow Leopard

I read this book several years ago but I just stumbled across this quote again. I enjoyed The Snow Leopard when I read it but this quote seems more poignant today. I will re-read books at times when I find that the meaning has become more relevant. This may be just such a case.

I am about done with writing this blog. It reminds me of the meaning I once found in the mountains when the mountains just existed and I did too, ringing together. The words are just words now. I am no longer able to venture off and create the meaning I once had and yet I look up to the mountains hoping that it will come down to me. I know better. The mountains are amazing and I must exist.

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