Rocky Mountains - Where Gratitude Flows

Aug 13

When I was invited to join my friend in Denver with less than two weeks to plan, we didn’t expect our hiking boots to be caked in Colorado mud as we trekked through the Rocky Mountains. An unexpected Pinterest post titled “Things to See Near Denver” quickly changed our plans.

At 4:30 a.m., we grabbed our backpacks, snacks, and rain ponchos before hitting the road. As the forests thickened and the mountains drew closer, I was unprepared for the overwhelming emotions soon to follow. At the end of our first hiking trail—sitting beside a waterfall, looking past the conifers and deciduous trees toward the mountain peaks—gratitude rushed over us just as the creek flowed beneath our feet.

This feeling didn’t fade with the day. By the end of our explorations, I stood 12,005 feet high, overlooking vast tundras—inhale the cold mountain air, exhale the worry and fear of the past few months. The unexpected changes and a family illness had weighed heavy on my shoulders, but here, I was a single drop of rain falling gracefully into the lakes and rivers below.

I became grounded in my smallness, and for a single moment, I stood in stillness—a reminder of a beautiful life.