Walking among Giants

I took a trip to Washington state with my husband so he could start the process of being hired with a company in Tacoma, and we decided to make it a family trip as well.

On the way back we decided to stop at a couple of places as I've never been to the West Coast before. So we stopped at Multnomah Falls in Oregon, and drove through the Redwood National Forest in upper Cali on the way home.

Let me tell you. If you are questing for that childhood magic, go back to nature! If you are close enough to these huge wonders visit them as you will get that tiny kid feeling no matter how old you are, but not just that. There is a magic in the forest, and in nature that just cannot be described.

 

I stood at the base of the falls in wonder at how tall the waterfall was. Feeling the spray on my face and hearing the water crash against the mountain wall was literally so beautiful and majestic that I just wanted to cry at how happy I was.

We looked at the sign next to the falls, 1 mile to the top. I can do that I thought, I walked that about a week ago with the kids at Walmart (literally, I tracked it on my phone with my Charity Miles app which is wonderful, I encourage everyone to put this on their phone and use it.) You can keep track of how far you walk, run, or bike, and for every mile walked, ran, or biked Charity Miles will donate money to the charity of your choice, such as Feed America, Wounded Warriors, etc.

Back to the story though, about halfway up the mountain, I didn't think I could make it. My bum leg was giving me fits, and my knees felt like they had turned to powder about four bends back, but I had this amazing energy that kept pushing me, and I had to make it to the top. And it was so worth it at the top. We breaked, soaked up the beauty of the Columbia River pre falls, and basked in one another's company. We even managed to find two 4-leafed clovers among the shamrocks.

Though my legs felt like jello on the way back down the mountain, I felt so proud of myself that I hadn't let my injuries get the best of me, and I could feel that little spark inside my chest again, the one that I felt when I was a kid and had brought my mom flowers that I had picked in the forest. The one when you look up with your innocent eyes and her smile is just beaming back down at you.

But that wasn't the only child like wonder this day felt. Towards the end of the day I knew we were approaching the Redwoods, but the trees were still fairly small, so I kept picking at my husband about the trees don't look like they are getting any bigger to me!

Boy was I wrong. Darkness set in, but the trees were getting huge, and he (the Hubs) said they would be even bigger in the morning. I watched with my nose and hands pressed against the side window as tree trunks the size of my car whizzed by. OH! I could hardly contain myself. I was bouncing in my seat, and grinning from ear to ear.

Yet, as awestruck as I was already at the size of the tree's we drove through at dark, I was even more astounded by the ones we stopped to hug, and wander beneath the next day. These trees were huge, and over 3,200 years old. I felt as if I had fallen into Wonderland and had taken a sip of that liquid shrinking elixir.

And I discovered again that that is where the magic lies, right there in that inability to contain excitement. The innocent pleasure in something magnificent that dazzles us. It could be the old gentleman sitting in the photo department who does a slight of hand magic trick with a plastic coin, or having tea time with George the Clown (my crocheted stuffed clown from childhood) in the garden, or standing beneath a tree that you cannot wrap your arms around, but it's there. We have to allow ourselves this pleasure, this simplicity without the addition that comes so many times when we are adults. We have to stop the negativity of ourselves the inner hate that say's "well, it was just a slight of hand trick that con-artists use, or it's just a stuffed toy, this is stupid."

We must enjoy the moment, and accept the innocence and simplicity of the moment in order to feel the magic. So take the time to meditate if you will, find a quiet spot, and tune yourself into yourself and find that inner child, and let the magic flow.