Mountain Bliss

My most blissful experiences and "ah ha" moments have been in nature. About 10 years ago, I dramatically changed the whole direction of my career after a transcendent "mountain top experience" on my first real backpacking expedition. After 5 weeks of backpacking and hiking in New Zealand, I had a dramatic sense of intense gratitude and utter wellbeing that left me in a state of bliss for the next six months. Upon my return home, I left my office-based corporate job for training as a hiking guide, the Peace Corps, the National Park Service, and ultimately here, to Balanced Rock.

The natural world has become so sacred to me that two weeks ago, I made my entire family hike into the wilderness for my wedding. Watching my mother-in-law-to-be scale huge downed logs, large boulders, and trail wash-outs gave me pause, but the shared adventure created an atmosphere of heart-pumping excitement that might otherwise not have been there.

I deeply believe that very few experiences are as transformative as being in nature. Being in the outdoors refreshes, awakens, and rejuvenates us. We are biologically programmed to need sunshine, earth, and fresh air to feel most alive in the present moment. As usual, John Muir says it best:

"Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is necessity; that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life."

Go home to the mountains. Wash your spirit clean.

Warm summer wishes,
Pam (Meierding) Kuhn
Balanced Rock Executive Director