Blog 31 The Echo of the Hill

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The Echo of the Hill (Gary)

            Here I am at an ocean bluff vacation home and continuing to think about The Hill and what it means to me.  It's amazing what it continues to stir up.  I just finished reading the touching story of Skip Conrad in the October 2007 issue of Backpacker Magazine (“Vanishing Act,” p. 68), and how Nature touched a lost man's soul.  I know that feeling.  I can understand how, when his life was at an end, he hiked to the place he loved, where he was totally accepted, and died without a trace.  He was a victim of alcoholism and the resulting pain.  Generational wounding can leave you lonely no matter what you do to try and fill the space.  When you aren't given love and acceptance you can be lonely no matter what.  I know for me (yes, there was alcoholism in my family history as well), the mountain—The Hill—feels like a friendly spirit that is always there. 

            Maybe it's the dirt we all come from and return to.  It always feels like home.  It feels safe.  That is why I go back again and again.  I feel I belong there.  It is safe because there is no judgment.  It is totally accepting.  I don't feel alone.    

            If you feel lonely give this a try.  Find a place in nature you love, truly love, not too far from home, and go there as often as you can.  The place can become a friend.

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