Round Mountain

I went down to the river the other day with a question.

For those familiar with my writings, that should come as no surprise. I always go down to the river whenever I have a serious circumstance to contemplate.

And I sit there and I sit there and I sit there on a boulder in the water until the river speaks to me. But of course we all know the river doesn't actually speak to me, I speak to me. Once my mind is finally quieted.

And on this specific day, the river prompted me to not look down toward its rapids and eddies but rather up toward Round Mountain.

Photo by Michael Underwood Photography in Lake City, CO.

Round Mountain

The backdrop to Lake City. Situated right in front of Red Mountain. It captures everyone’s attention in Lake City. And although it is shorter than Red Mountain, smaller than Red Mountain, and not as colorful as the snow-capped and iron-rich Red Mountain, everyone’s always mesmerized by Round Mountain.

Round Mountain has a jagged face featuring rugged cliffs. Its face isn’t smooth like Red Mountain. The rough face of Round Mountain has been shaped over millions of years by the fierce forces of Mother Nature - water, wind, and rockfall.

And as my eyes studied Round Mountain I thought, it is because of Mother Nature’s hardships, we think Round Mountain is beautiful. It is because of its eroded, rugged, jagged face that we stare mesmerized at it, and not at the taller, smoother mountain behind it.

We are not so different when we look at people and their lives and their stories. We find beautiful those who have endured hardship yet still stand tall and strong. We find inspirational tales of the Hero’s Journey, about those who have fought through hell and have come out the other side victoriously.

So I left the river that day at peace. Knowing that even though we want so bad for our lives to be smooth, our hardships will make our lives beautiful.

At least that is what the river told me anyways.

~Belay