Water Therapy

Today I was happy for the first time in a long time. The majesty of the waterfalls supplemented with the beauty of the cliffs it fell from put me in a spell that I haven't fell under in a long time. All around us is land as flat as the earth can be, stretching out to the gray horizon. But here, the Earth goes straight up, defying the environment in which it resides. And from this defiance, fall tears, powerful and fierce.

The pain is palpable; surrounded by my friends and peers, the feelings of isolation and loneliness persist. It is a state that I have built a reluctant residence in-- but today, I escaped.

In the midst of the swirling mist, in between the towering walls of the valley, I felt free. Sitting on the edge of the cliffs, staring down where the water hammers the rocks, I finally found a feeling that I feared was lost-- happiness.

Witnessing the raw power of the waterfalls was therapeutic for a man who had long fallen ill with the need to control life. But here, there is no control, there is only the unadulterated, unwavering, and unrelenting energy of the water, punishing the rocks below. The forces that shape these lands around me have been at work for millions of years, and will continue to play long after my story is written. None of my achievements or accomplishments mean anything juxtaposed next to these falls. I stare in awe, at the unforgiving nature that surrounds me, at true power, and feel my spirits lift higher.

There have been few other times in my life that I was as physically uncomfortable as I was today. The bitterly cold wind blended with the icy mist to make my hands and feet numb, and to handicap their capabilities. My face and hair were soaked with the freezing rain from the falls, and my shoes sank into wet, muddy ground, becoming wetter with every step I took. Yet today, I felt a joy that made me impervious to all pain and discomfort. I was in the moment, enjoying every drop that graced my face, every gust that froze me to the core, and every muddy, slippery, step.

I do not know if anyone else around me felt the way I did today. I do not know if I could ever truly relay what I experienced. But I know that today, I was elated, ecstatic, and joyous; and that, no matter how alone I feel, will never fade from my memory.