The Confident Hiker

“I love you”, I utter gently as I admire the grey rocks in the distance in front of me. Have I always seen you so clearly? I don’t know. You were somehow always there. Always around, always close enough to be taken for granted without being fully appreciated for the magnitude you bear.

In your tallest heights I could so rarely join you. Mountain goats, marmots, ibexes are your companions and lately I so often wish, I could be too. All the way up on the peak, a sea of clouds beneath me, the tree line below, a rugged surface to walk on and surrounded by a silence that has in many ways become a rare gift.

Sitting opposite of you, looking up to your tallest heights, I can’t feel anything other than a deep awe that I can’t really put to words. And when I have to leave, there is an ache that reaches every fiber of my being, every bone, every muscle, every hair on my skin, every atom of my existence.

You bring a peace and a reassurance that no human and no other condition, no materialistic gift, no professional accomplishment, no home has ever been able to bring. And I know that this is how it will always be. We understand each other wordlessly. We don’t expect, we don’t judge, we don’t lose faith in one another. I bear no claim on you but I can always find you. And more, I learn my lessons whenever I am in you presence. You teach me to truly understand the concept of respect, of gratitude, of being in the present moment and and a freedom that is absolute.

To see myself in your presence is to see myself truly. I see myself as a gentle wind, a slowly wandering cloud and as the morning sun, gently crawling up the rock walls. I see myself with the eyes of a curious cow, calmly keeping a steady eye contact and an exited dog with a wagging tail. I see myself with a multitude of colors of all the flowers, the changing leaves of the autumn trees and as the endlessness of a cerulean sky. I see myself with the peace and safety of a clear, silent starry night. And the clarity of a bright round moon, illuminating your surface.

And while I see this woman that is me so clearly and lovingly, this is also where I feel the meaning of togetherness and the irrelevance of individuality. Everything just becomes one and I get lost in this sensation of oneness. This infinite sky, your peaks reaching high, in stillness and steadiness.

And though I must leave, our bond stays intact and we vow to be good to one another. I never want to bring you harm; and I shall forever remember and treasure the peace you bring to me.

October 2025