Here I sit.

"Patience asks us to live the moment to its fullest, to be completely present in the moment, to taste the here and now, to be where we are. When we are impatient, we try to get away from where we are. We behave as if the real thing will happen tomorrow, later, and somewhere else. Let's be patient and trust the treasure we look for is hidden on the ground on which we stand." -Henri Nowen


The instructions are- go and find a place to sit alone. Experience what if feels like to be alone- in solitude- for a moment.

So, I climb. I climb up and see a nice rock and think, there's a nice place to sit for a little bit. But, the summit is just a little bit further. Only that much more to go and I'll be at the top, with a birds-eye view of the beauty and grandeur, dry lands and trickling water running through it. The contrasts of the shades of green and shades of brown will be so accented from way up there. I'll get a beautiful, vast, panoramic view of this area where we're hiking.
But, that's not the point. Achievement isn't the idea. Summit-ing isn't what we're doing. An outside view looking inward is not what I should be looking for right now.
And so I sit. From where I am, I can see the top of the hill- just that much further- and I can see the steep, sandy, slippery path where I came from just below me. And surrounding me are the trees, cacti, rocks, branches and thorns I stepped over and around to get here. And right in the middle, surrounding by all of that, is where I sit.
That is where I am.
Not looking downward on a bigger, prettier, landscape view of it all. Not climbing upwards to summit this little hill. Not striving for one more step.
Instead, I sit here, in the middle of everything, surrounded. Here I can still feel the wind blowing around me, the sunshine on my back, and the pebble in my shoe. Looking around, I can see only what's right in front of me. The rest lies hidden behind the rocks, thorns, branches, cacti, and trees. If I focus really hard I can see beyond them. But, I don't. I examine my place- exactly where I am and it is exactly where I am supposed to be.