The three day visit to the Grand Canyon with my daughter will always be a most unforgettable journey for me. It was an environment that at once left me speechless in the presence of its magnificent and majestic beauty while also feeling the treacherous and unforgiving harsh possibilities that lay before me.
The smell of pine, prickly cactus, the dryness of the landscape, the burnt remains of the lightning strikes that permeate the area during the monsoon season all add to the harsh environment. The fact that people live and work in this area tells me it takes a certain toughness and determination for one to survive successfully here…and it shows on the faces of the locals that I have met and spoke with.
How did the Grand Canyon form? Where did it all start? Questions that filled me as I explored the area. I discovered the Park Rangers are a most patient lot and could feel they enjoyed sharing what they new about the Canyon. The truth is, something dramatic happened here and in time, and in constant change, this Canyon is the result.
Sitting on the rims edge, pondering what I see, enjoying the moments, soaking it in, letting it be…and at the same time recognizing that this was once something else and some phenomenal event took place…I see a lesson in my life. That no matter how change occurs, the trauma it can bring, the harshness of the event, or the challenges that lay before me, given time, patience and persistence, good things can come from it. That idea for me cannot be denied when I sit at the rims edge, spellbound by this celebration of geology at it’s finest.
Change can be a challenge, but where there is an end, there is also a new beginning. With each new exploration I have taken since Pat died, I have learned and found joy. I like doing, I like people, I like moving about and seeing what I can get into. This is my time, my final stage of being, and I know, that when my time comes to say good-bye to the world as I know it, I will say, “in the end, I really did have it all.”
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