Perspective

     I went hiking last weekend on the Old Baldy trail.  There was a point in the hike where the trail became steep, my quads started to burn and I was looking at the road ahead of me and feeling weary.  At that point I kept my head down putting one foot in front of the other, focusing my eyes on that next step.  I plodded away step after step intently placing each foot along the way.  Finally, at one point along the trail, I stopped.  And I lifted my head.
    
      My eyes beheld the view.  Groves of aspens, clouds that looked like cotton candy floating in the sky, a bird singing a melody I had never heard, the subtle waft of the pine trees as the wind gently bowed their branches.  Majestic. 

     I whispered to myself,  "Wow.  I almost missed this."  I had lost perspective.  I nearly missed the view.
  
     Oh the view!  It was remarkable, expansive, beautiful and exhilarating.  And it was there all along. 

     How often do I miss the view?  How many times have I been walking through the thick of things, so focused on where my next step should land, overwhelmed by the road ahead, and fearful of what would happen if I stopped, that I missed the big picture.  The big majestic picture. 
    

     In the middle of your desert, valley, or long uphill road, don't miss the view.  Without perspective there is no glorious mountain top summit.