#tbt Alive in the Backwoods

As we ascended the mountain, the switchbacks became more shallow, with more shrubs and tiny trees that cast shadows in the dying afternoon sunlight. We stopped for probably the 15th time that day for a sip of water and another salt cap and I decided I wanted almonds. I sat down on a rock in the shade as he dug through his pack for my snack. Handing me the almonds, he sat down, too, close enough for me to hear his breath, but far enough away that it didn't distract me. I asked if we could sit here a little longer and he leaned back into his rock. 

It was silent in the canyon surrounding us. There was no city noise up there, no planes overhead, no cell reception. We were far from any human. I took a deep breath, and my lungs filled with the cool, fresh breeze. I exhaled, and my breath was the breeze. It caused the trees to stir hundreds of miles below. I looked up. I could touch the sky. There was silence and there was life and something happened to me up there. I closed my eyes and when I opened them I saw God, and something deep inside me understood that I was God. I was everything and nothing on top of that mountain. I was alive.