Author and essayist Loren Eiseley once told us, “It is a commonplace of all religious thought, even the most primitive, that the man seeking visions and insight must go apart from his fellows and love for a time in the wilderness.”  Indeed, how commonplace it is.  It is into the wilderness that we go when we need to refresh our hearts, that concept encompassing our mind, will and emotions.  It is into the wilderness we go to restore our spiritual selves and the balance we need to remain sane in light of the most basic realities.

Going into the wilderness can be a pilgrimage for those who would make the trek and while there make it so.  My early years in the wilderness were mostly thrashing around, making noise and missing the point.  Slowly the wilderness did its work, which is indeed the work of God in us.  I slowed down and began to live in the wilderness, not simply visit it and drive home.  It is truly a gift to be there and to experience all the Creator has for us in the quiet, the solitude, and the struggle.

These pictures including the banner picture, are from a recent solo backpack trip to the Wallowa Mountains in northeastern Oregon.  I hope the sight of wilderness makes your Monday a little cheerier!

More wilderness, please.