“And those mountains off to our left, those are Tennessee mountains,” our guide told us as my closest friend and I rode along the trail. The view was absolutely breathtaking, and beyond words to describe. We had ridden up a rocky incline to the peek where the ground flattened out now, and the trees around us had given way to a daisy-scattered field. It was from that height that the air was clear and the view was backdropped against those mountains – so far away they were in another state.

The funny thing was, I had seen the mountains on our drive to the trail ride, too. Only then, they had been foggy, distant, and easy to miss. We were driving along and had just topped a hill in the road that was leading to our own Georgia mountains where we would ride. Yet, I almost missed the distant view entirely. With one glance, you’d see the trees of where we were headed, and clouds above them. Only with a closer look would you see that some of the “clouds” were far-away peeks, barely distinguishable shadows of the distance. I did notice them then, and I thought they were pretty. But from the road, there was not much else to notice about them, and they were not even in view for very long.

What it took was turning off that main, fast, occupied road onto the smaller, nearly empty road. Leaving behind the colorful signs and stores that were designed to try and attract you in, and be surrounded by the trees and fresh air instead. Then, in the stillness of the mountain trails – when all we could hear was the breeze, birds, and the gentle sound of our horses’ hooves beating into the forest floor – the air was clear and we could look down and out to see mountains that were miles and miles away, their peaks rising up to the sky, but still distinguishable from the clouds.

The beauty was the kind that makes everything around it peaceful. It was a time where it was impossible to worry. We left all concerns down at the foot of the gravel road we turned onto to reach the horses. Up there, it was all still, beautiful, and calming. After a few moments of looking at those distant summits, I was struck by how often life follows this very same pattern.

In the foggy, busy, noisy world, it is so easy to miss things. They are clouded, and we have only the briefest moments in which we can see them – if we bother to look up. But we frequently don’t, and we miss the view. Or, we see it blended into the future and fail to appreciate it.

Then there are beautiful moments when we have to step away to clear our heads. If we take that time out of our business, it is entirely refreshing! We can mount new heights, and from there we can breathe and look out. When we do, those foggy things are suddenly clear. They are breathtaking opportunities that call to us, and not so far away as we might have thought.

I know that for me, I want to do this more often. Both physically and metaphorically, I know I need days when I can leave everything else behind and only climb to enjoy the view, to see what I missed below. Of course, life isn’t meant to be lived entirely removed from everything else. But nevertheless, I believe it’s important to have plenty of opportunities to do so. Get away. Breathe. Look out at the beauty. And enjoy the mountains.