Angel Wings on the Mountain
…place becomes a companion to us in difficult times. Ruth Allen (Weathering: How the earth’s deep wisdom can help us endure life’s storms)
Words, especially ones that might be pivotal, have difficulty finding their way to the page this morning. The moon is Void of Course, an inward call; and many planetary aspects bring an intensity to this eclipse season. Context for which I am grateful – not as cause or excuse, but as deeper understanding and acceptance of what is both out there and in me.
Even the silent stillness of the Mountain seems challenged to keep the cacophony of this noisy, chaotic, disruptive world at bay. That’s a story that I imagine could be so, yet there the Mountain stands, a more likely story is that it is watching over me, my community, and this sacred valley that is my home. It roars silence and stillness that ground me if I look and listen, see and hear.
I’ve looked at the Mountain from this place daily for over a decade. I greet it each morning with a smile and give it my gratitude each night.
The Mountain always and never looks the same. Sunlight changes its appearance throughout each day, and that light changes with the seasons. The Mountain’s outline can often be seen in moonglow. Now the aspens at tree line are beginning to turn, and patches of gold catch my eye as my gaze goes up the Mountain.
Clouds move in, out, and around sometimes shrouding, other times highlighting a particular feature. A week or so ago the peak was hidden and the ridge on each side of a low point in the ridge gave the appearance of angel wings. The beauty gave rise to a new depth of awareness that the Mountain is much more than the peak that is usually the focal point of my vision, and seemed to say, “Not all the Mountain’s messages come from the peak.”
The Mountain: always and never looking the same, yet always there.
Over the next several days as I looked to the Mountain, my gaze landed on that low point in the ridge, and in that ‘V’ I began to see the upper part of a heart, and I sensed the Mountain inviting me to look more deeply within. I carried the heart and the invitation with me as I walked a favorite path in the valley. Looking up to the Mountain, I began to see many ‘V’s and many hearts.
My own heart filled with joy and gratitude at the sight and that reminder to look to the stillness within. An apropos message for this noisy time. Quiet my mind and look to peace in my heart. Quiet our minds and look to peace in our hearts. Still our minds to keep that peace. And invite the world to join us.
This experience deepened by appreciation of the Mountain as companion in this time of disruption, dissolution, intensity, and seemingly endless opportunities to release that which no longer serves Life. The Mountain’s silent, still roar is my rock. Solid. True. Standing tall. And inviting me home to the heart of my being.
What place can you embrace as companion to anchor and still you in the truth of who you be? Find it. See it (if even in your mind’s eye). Hear it with the ears of your heart.
Hearts on the Mountain - Crestone Peak 2025