Journal Prompt from Submissive Guide Journal Prompts, January 20, 2012
Describe what a beautiful view is to you.
I have several memories that come to mind when I think of a beautiful view. I have always been interested in outdoorsy activities and have been lucky enough to hike in the White Mountains, the Smokies, and the Adirondack Mountains. I have camped throughout the northeastern United States. I have skied in Vermont and New York. I biked across New York state and into Vermont. And I run. There have been so many times where I had to stop, admire the view and wish a camera could capture the feeling not just the view. Most of the wonderful views I have experienced are lost in the quagmire of my brain but there are a few that stand out and come to mind for no particular reason.
I remember hiking in the Smokies in my 20’s along the Appalachian Trail to Charlies Bunion. The sky was blue and the weather was just right for hiking. There are several vistas that are just so beautiful, you can’t help but stop and take a picture. But it isn’t the sky, the sun, or the mountains covered in trees, it is the lack of people and the power of nature that overcomes you. Until someone hikes past you, you can feel totally alone in the world. I am not the first to say how insignificant I feel when looking out over the mountains, feeling the sun, and smelling that unique smell of forest. It is knowing I am a small speck in the march of time as the mountains grow and subside. Writing this makes me yearn for the mountains but not just for myself, but for also all those I love. I want to share the beauty and moment with them. Words can never convey the feeling the view gives me.
But I also enjoy just lying on the beach doing absolutely nothing. The sun heats my body just as the ocean breeze cools it and I feel the rhythm of heat and coolness as I lie there. There are too many people at the beach to feel the solitude of the mountains but I will stare at the horizon and wonder how it felt to sail off in a ship not knowing what was on the other side or even if there was another side. There is no end to the horizon and that gives me the feeling of hope and possibility and the endlessness of time. It is freedom from my past, my present, and my future. I can’t help but take that sense of possibility with me when I leave the beach. I can do anything I set my mind so.
The last view that comes to mind is a fantasy that has been with me for as long as I can remember. In the center, is a small cabin with smoke coming out of the chimney. It is nestled in a grove of trees next to a sparkling mountain lake. There are trees covering the mountains behind the cabin with a beautiful meadow in the forefront. This has been something I have drawn, doodled, and painted my whole life. I wish to sit in a rocking chair on the porch of the cabin and watch the lake, the clouds, the insects and animals in the meadow and feel a part of the nature around me. It is feeling secure in the embrace of the mountains yet the unknown in life in the endless meadow. Perhaps it is what I am looking for in life. Perhaps it represents love, security and acceptance but since it is a fantasy, maybe this place is only in mind. Sometimes I think I search too hard and don’t know I am there already.
