A reminder to …. look up

Looking up a branch off Grandmother Aspen tree… the simple act of Looking UP gave a vision with so many messages

This image was taken during a  visit to an aspen tree (named Grandmother Tree) on a mountain (named Magic Mountain) near Old La Sal Utah.

While sitting on the earth surrounding her trunk, mired it my “stuff” I took a few deep cleansing breaths, became present to the space I was in and looked up… and captured the magic of the moment in this image.

I remember back to years back when I ventured on a backpacking trip with a small group of folk through the Sierra Nevada range- walking the John Muir trail from the Yosemite Valley south… We started our journey carrying what we needed and then some- you know- the “in case of ___” and “just a few things for comfort” stuff, proud of how much we whittled out of our packs we set off. For me (and most of us) our packs weighed a few pounds more than 50% of my body weight- for a girl coming from sea-level hiking up over 8,000ft nearly each day of the first 3 days- it was TOOO much and all I remember seeing of the amazing world around me was my feet! We lightened our loads the next day and I walked with the intent to look around, enjoy the magic and every now and then look up finding spectacular mountain peaks, sunsets, trees and stars!

And so I am reminded me of how often I tread through life carrying such a heavy load that my eyes are fixated on putting one foot in front of the other… until I remember- to breathe, just breathe and then look UP! the small shift of my focus has always lead to a magical view… so I can choose to remember to look up… and see my world expand through a new portal of “see-ing”.

For more images and messages from Grandmother aspen please check out my new book- The Wisdom of Grandmother Tree on the BLURB website http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/3458373