Recently, I took a short hike on a trail in the Smokey Mountain National Park. The trek wound through dense forest, across quick flowing mountain streams, and ended in a short climb to the base of a towering waterfall.
In the heat of mid-day, the cold mist from the falls was an exhilarating reprieve and allowed for inspirational reflection. There, isolated among the stillness of the afternoon, time seemed to stand still only for a few moments, until the trek resumed back down the mountainside.
‘Return to Reason and Faith’
The restorative experience was reminiscent of what Ralph Waldo Emerson describes in his 1836 book “Nature”:…