Mountains and Rivers

Field Days, over the goldenrod, out in the distance. This photo reminds me of the first time I came home after being away at college and discovered that Vermont had mountains. Before I went away they were such a part of my landscape that I didn't even notice they were there.

It brings to mind this, that Robert Johnson wrote in "Balancing Heaven and Earth,"

In Buddhism there is the proverb: "When I was a child the mountains were the mountains, the rivers were the rivers, and the sky was the sky. Then I lost my way, and the mountains were no longer mountains, the rivers were no longer rivers, and the sky was no longer the sky. But after much self-work, I experienced satori, and once again the mountains were mountains, the rivers were rivers, and the sky was simply sky.

In a similar vein, the Danish Philosopher and theologian Soren Kirkegaard made the observation that the simple man on his way home from work is wondering what's for dinner. The complex man on his way home is debating the complexities and improbabilities of life. The enlightened man on his way home from work is wondering what's for dinner. Again, we see three progressions, each quite different from one another."