A Mountain Flower

This is a crimson columbine, one of dozens and dozens of amazing flowers in the Sierra Nevada. Every time I go out into the mountains or desert, no matter what time of year, I find exquisitely beautiful details in the trees, rocks, sand, plants, and animals. The most barren spot of rocky hillside has its hidden beauty. There is almost no spot on the earth where I cannot see beauty if I look for a few minutes. To borrow from often quoted Navajo poetry,

In beauty, may I walk.
All day long, may I walk.
Through the returning seasons, may I walk.

Beautifully I will possess again.
Beautifully birds…
Beautifully joyful birds…

On the trail marked with pollen, may I walk.
With grasshoppers about my feet, may I walk.
With dew about my feet, may I walk.

With beauty, may I walk.
With beauty before me, may I walk.
With beauty behind me, may I walk.
With beauty above me, may I walk.
With beauty all around me, may I walk.

In old age, wandering on a trail of beauty,
lively, may I walk.
In old age, wandering on a trail of beauty,
living again, may I walk.

It is finished in beauty.
It is finished in beauty.