"In the Distance..."

...are the Maroon Bells....

in Aspen, Colorado...definitely, "God's Country".

I have hiked here several times...

each time feeling like the day was spent in heaven.

I have buckets of photos recording their splendor.

This is my only painting of them...made in 2006

in one of my very first watercolor journals...

long before "Water Blossoms" was even a "twinkle in my eye."

My mind is indelibly seared with their awesome natural beauty...

even though great distance separates us.

"Somewhere we know

that without silence words lose their meaning,

that without listening speaking no longer heals,

that without distance closeness cannot cure."
~Henri Nouwen

Distance of the heart:

Missing those we love...their kiss, their smile, their touch...

Mental distance...

Trying to remember faces, and names, and everyday events...

Distance of times past:

Reminiscing about cozy family gatherings

or

the twinkling of a young child's eyes on Christmas morn...

Distance of Perception:

Wondering what is reality and what is fiction.

Distance...just all by itself...is it

the deal breaker of relationships

or

the thing that makes them grow fonder?

I often wonder.