Mountain Vision

Mountain Vision

A few months after a hiking vacation in the Smoky Mountains, I began to write an inner visualization/poetic lyric about my spiritual connection with mountains. I had a few lines, mostly capturing a physical presence - sculpted peaks (actually, inspired more by The Matterhorn and The Grand Tetons than The Smokys) green valleys, ice blue streams, etc. I decided to show the initial sketch to a friend who dabbled in songwriting. He liked what he read but bluntly suggested, "Throw in a relationship." "A relationship?," I cried out. "This is my ode to nature, to the purity of spirit, to the great mystery." I didn't want to sully the work's essence with something as mundane as a relationship!

Of course, I was being defensive. (Can't remember if I was in a relationship at the time.) Gradually, his challenge crawled under my mental block and started gnawing at my heart and mind. While initially disoriented, his remark actually motivated me to grapple with a more complex and, ultimately, more meaningful creative problem: the parallels between climbing a mountain and building a loving bond. "Mountain Vision" was and is the answer:

Close your eyes for a journey
A deep breath to unwind
Now contemplate a mountain
The mountain of your mind.

Sculpted peaks, green valleys
The rush of ice blue streams
Sway to the cosmic ebb and flow
The rhythm of your dreams.

You're not a solo traveller
This is a trip for two
Can you climb together?
Will you make it through?

Higher and higher
Can you aspire?
Lighter and lighter
Spirit afire

Deeper and deeper
Beyond desire?
Deeper and deeper
Beyond desire.

Put aside all questions
Let your mind be free.
Just step into the mirror
Let go...and follow me.

We begin in the forest
Enchanted beyond time.
Its dance of light and shadow
Primeval and sublime.

The forest as the artist
Trees willowy and bold
The brushstrokes of the branches
Leaves afire red and gold.

And then God-like fingers
Stream down from above
Solar rays caress you both
A touch of nature's love,

(Chorus)

Have you found your Eden?
Or have you lost your will?
To build a loving lasting bond
You must go higher still?

So head upstream, the gentle stream
The babbling soothes your brain
A crystal clear reflection
To find yourself again.

Suddenly, black moody sky
The winds shakes trees and roars
The rain and thunder crashing down
The wolf is at the door.

A fearful growl: "Go back!
Or beware this tempest
Adjust to the plateau life
Give up your childish quest."

Old pain begins to erupt
Your soulful streams pour forth
To blend as soular fusion
Igniting light and faith.

You radiate an aura
The storm soon starts to ease
A howling psyche transformed
Now two phoenix on the rise.

(Chorus)

Soar above the tree line...
Look A serpentine waterfall
With mist soaked pastel rock-face
Rainbow rock-face...magical.

Onward past the snowline
To the windsept peak
A swirl of endless flurries
As if homage to your feat.

An oh so splendid silence
Defies the spoken word
A moment of transcendence
A oneness with the world.

So two alone together
Now embrace the humbling view:
To envision higher power
Both within and outside you.

Higher and higher
You can aspire
Lighter and lighter
Spirit afire
Deeper and deeper
Beyond desire
Deeper and deeper
Beyond desire.

Just remember...Practice Safe Stress!

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Mark Gorkin, "The Stress Doc," Licensed Clinical Social Worker, is a nationally recognized speaker, workshop leader and author on stress, reorganizational change, anger, team building, creativity and humor. The Stress Doc is a columnist for the popular cyber-newsletter, Humor From The Edge. Mark is also the "Online Psychohumorist" for the major AOL mental health resource network, Online Psych . His motto: Have Stress? Will Travel! Reach "The Doc" at (202) 232-8662, email: Stress Doc@aol.com