I wish you could have been with me today....

I wish you could have been with me today - surrounded by the type of beauty that is so perfect, you're almost sad because moments like this slip away all too quickly. I sat in a straight-backed wooden chair on the porch reading and taking in the general splendor. A cool breeze toyed with the leaves and sunlight peaked through the tree boughs. The sound of the river passing by helped make any other reality fade into the background. As I sat here, breathing deeply, taking in the aromatic scent of fire burning ovens, seasoned wood, and life. This is my perfect place, my safe haven, my respite from the chaos of everyday living. The hanging flowers, the sun illuminating the ridges of the tin roof and the soft green of the aspen leaves, the rustic furniture, and ever-changing colors, the feeling of smooth, worn wood beneath my finger tips, the final words of an inspiring book - they all seem like a love note to me. I'm afraid to move, as Anne once said, in fear that the spell of this place, the serenity I feel, will be broken. But down the mountain I must go. "Real" life awaits. I'll be back though. This truly is the only reality I seek.
Note written in the back of Jim Collins' "From Good to Great" during the late afternoon on Thursday, September 16, 2010 at Sundance
ps. The pictures were not taken on that perfect sunlit afternoon. They were taken on the earlier visit to Sundance where I curled up in that rocking chair and finished "Mockingjay" - perfect mood lighting for a book like that, don't you think?