Feeling Small

The world is a big place, with far more years on its shoulders than we sometimes care to imagine. We've visited some spots that if you just allow yourself to stop and think and wonder, you can feel the smallness. It's not a scary thing, just a reality thing.

Crater Lake was one of those places. To stand there and imagine this huge mountain that is no longer there being blown to such bits is to really use your imagination. Then to imagine what was left of the mountain collapsing into the empty magma chamber creating a crater takes imagination as well. So now close your eyes and picture year after year of rainfall and snowfall accumulating in the lake and the level slowly starting to rise until it is over 1,900 feet deep in places and containing incredible shades of blue.

Walking among redwoods was also one of those places. You can only see a teeny-tiny bit of Sarah and Nathan on this tree. The span of their little lifetimes is so small compared to all this tree has seen. One tree we visited had enough board feet to build three 3-bedroom homes. I am so thankful that at some point in the past folks decided to protect some of these giants for future generations to stand beneath and feel small.

We often think of feeling small as a negative, but in these places we have visited it is a chance to better appreciate our place in the world. We are a small part of a much larger creation, and we all have a part in making it a better place.