The Road to Nowhere

Pine on Rabbit Mountain in black and white copyright 2025 JeanMaher.com

Living in the Midwest, I'm so used to smaller vistas, like an overlook onto a lake that may have hills beyond. The view is more finite. But here in the foothills of the western mountains, the distances one can see are so much greater, and the sky and clouds much closer to me. On this late afternoon, I was hiking up a stony path, camera gripped securely in my hand, aware of the fading light and the need to keep an eye on my steps on a rocky inclined path. The way wound upward along the side of a ridge. I kept climbing, aware the top of the ridge was close, judging by how far down I could see the sky through the trees above me, something I'd learned to watch for over portages in the Boundary Waters of Minnesota when carrying a heavy pack or canoe that kept me going, and hinted at a slope going down to the next lake.

I was drawn to another view, a faint path to this solitary pine partway down the slope. I loved the bravery of the tree, standing here in the wind, and snapped a few pictures. A person could have reached the tree from any manner of directions, making their own path, but others before had found a way and I followed it. Beside me, the grasses waving in the wind and dried flowers that grew in the recent summer were still beautiful in their own way. My eyes took them in, but I stayed on the narrow path.

I thought about how often in my life I've taken or tried any number of approaches to something, when the best approach was to be disciplined enough stay the course and follow my heart. Maybe staying on a path could feel limiting, but I read recently that there is freedom in discipline. It struck me differently than before. It resonated with me. With discipline, I don't take a tangent. I don't waste precious time. I just look at the grasses and plants along the way and go forward, mindful of time passing and the need to get off the mountain while I could still see the way. The reward is the view - the vastness of possibilities that open up when I follow my path and get on with it.

Pine on Rabbit Mountain in color copyright 2025 JeanMaher.com

The key is to keep going, growing and commit to being disciplined. Stay the course and keep moving forward. I'm in for that!