Earlier this month, I took a little vacation to Colorado
with my best friend. We needed a change of scenery and a break from the
stresses of life. Along with new tan lines and a new Facebook cover photo, the
mountains taught me a thing or two about life.
From far away (and at first glance), it was difficult to
truly grasp the size and majesty of the Rocky Mountains. They loomed in the
distance as a gentle reminder of their presence, but nothing more. As we drove
through the valley, the wall of land rose up in front of us like New York City
skyscrapers, intimidating and awe-inspiring. As we spiraled up the dirt road
towards the trail-head, we were enveloped in a canopy of trees, so much so that
I almost forgot we were ascending a mountain. The hike up was no different.
At about the halfway point on the trail, there was a break
in the trees, and we could finally see just how high up we truly were. The
Denver skyline was nowhere in sight. I took a moment to breathe in the mountain
air and bask in the beauty of the minuscule world below. I felt a slight tug on
my brain from the part that reminds me how small I am in this world, how
insignificant. It receded as quickly as it had come.
Once we finally reached the end of the trail, we climbed the
143 steps to the Devil’s Head Fire Tower Lookout. As I walked around the
outside of the tower, taking pictures of the view, I stopped for a moment and
lowered the camera. You could see at least a hundred miles in each direction,
and Pike’s Peak towered in the distance. So close yet so very far away.
Everything below was so small. I could pinch the tree tops
and rock formations between my thumb and forefinger. The horizon, usually at eye
level, appeared to be above me; no matter how high up you go, there is always
room to go higher.
While standing atop a great mountain made me feel small, it
also reminded me that even the smallest things have meaning and purpose. Without
the bees, the beautiful flowers we saw during our ascent wouldn’t exist.
Without the trees, the sun would have burned us up. Without each little
individual rock and piece of earth, the mountains wouldn’t even have come to be
in the first place.
Everything in this world, no matter how big or small, is
valuable, including people. Even if it may not seem like it, the world would be
completely different without you in it. You affect people’s lives even in the
simplest of ways, ways that you might not even be paying attention to.
People matter. You matter. No matter how small you might see
yourself in comparison to the mountains that life throws at you, you matter. No
matter how many people tell you how worthless and minuscule you are, you
matter.
I think the Matt Smith’s Doctor said it best: “900 years of
time and space, and I’ve never met anyone who wasn’t important.” You were
zapped into existence for a reason. Don’t waste it obsessing over what others
think of you. Be strong. Be courageous. Be the mountain.
