Omayra Acevedo, Peak to Peak. I don’t know. Life is confusing sometimes. Did I just say, “sometimes?” Ha! I wish. As a human, I’m a creature of habit when it comes to certain things. Sometimes – there’s that word again – when something happens that changes your way of thinking and feeling, you can’t help but question the thing that makes you think and feel differently. Does any of this make sense? Have I gone mad? What’s a girl to do now? The same thing she always does.

She finds her way to nature; all in hopes of realizing the strength within herself as she explores everything else around her. This time, I headed West on I-70. I took Exit #306 and found myself traveling toward Winter Park on Berthoud Pass. Somewhere along the way, I parked and began to wander aimlessly on what looked like a trail. After approximately an hour of hiking, I climbed another hundred feet or so and came upon an open space where I could spot clouds as far as the eye could see.

With no one else around, I laid on my back and watched the clouds dance across the sky. I tried turning the forms of them into something familiar, to no avail. That’s until I changed my own perspective. I laid on my side, I tilted my head to face a different direction and even used the glare from the sun to form outlines.  I saw waves, an arrowhead and even a figure that resembled a distorted butterfly. The last cloud I spotted was my favorite. To me, it mirrored what my life feels like at the moment. It took no particular pattern, but it was a plethora of shapes all uniting to create a lovely mess.

I had hoped the trail would help me find my path, but it was the moments I took to stop and simply enjoy what was right in front of me that made things clear. Sometimes there is no need for answers or explanations. Some things come to us because they’re good and we deserve them. I wonder what you are discovering. Have you sat back and observed the clouds lately? What shapes can you see? Is your life taking an unexpected turn? How do you, my dear reader, cope with drastic change? Though whatever is happening has at times made my life the quintessential meaning of confusion, I can’t help but delve into the beauty of it all. 

(Originally published in the June 11, 2020, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)