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Under
the Falls - My First Transcendental Experience
by
nero
This
is an excerpt from an essay I wrote in high school. See
what kind of cool things you can find when you clean out
your closet?
My
Youth had been in Washington on our mission trip for a
couple of days. After seeing Seattle and Canada we
decided to visit Mt. Rainer. We enjoyed the snow covered
slopes and a few of us wanted to take a five mile hike
across one of the foothills that crowded the mountain.
We
started walking at a jerky, over anxious pace, and for
at least half a mile we missed the canvas around us.
Gradually, we softened our tempo and allowed our eyes to
drink up the beauty that surrounded us. The trees
stretched almost to the sky, their rich foliage created
a canopy where sunlight cascaded in streams through
dense shadows. The reverent silence, interrupted only by
our alien intrusion into the mystic realm of nature,
gently dissolved the rationalistic mindset I had been
burdened with for so long.
As
we advanced, the simplistic beauty grew more intense.
The hues blended together to form colors I had never
imagined. I saw scenes that made the chaos of the city
life seem like phantom shadows. Slowly, I became
oblivious to my companions. I scarcely remember the path
splitting and me, like the poet, taking the one less
traveled.
Snow
covered the slope I treaded on. The narrow, snow
blanketed path clung to a steep slope. Beneath me lay a
rapid stream in a narrow ravine lined with harsh
deadwood. Slowly, I became aware of the roar that
enveloped the mountain. Comet Falls thundered before me.
Hundreds of feet above me glacier water fell from the
mountain itself. Like a magnet, it held my gaze. I
crawled up the jagged hill that separated the slope from
the falls and stood at the top, the cold updraft almost
made me lose my balance. Below me the falls pounded the
rock into pebbles. I made my way across the marshy path
to the floor of the ravine. Once there, I looked strait
up at the falls. It seemed as if the whole mountain
would crash upon me. I didn't know whether to be afraid
or not. I felt small and insignificant. At the moment, I
realized the mortality I suffered from. At the moment, I
was the closest to my Creator. This tabernacle of
biblical proportions seemed holier than the grand
cathedrals in the entire world. Slowly, the realization
that all that existed didn't consist of what I could
fathom. I had a new need, a need to accept the things I
couldn't interpret.
___________________
Nero
is a postmodern right wing techy trying to
live and work in San Antonio, Texas. After
years of running from God, Nero has begun
working in a post transitional church in the
heart of the city.
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