the splendor of the grand canyon

my cousins from kansas came to visit and on monday we went to the grand canyon. friends i tell you that it doesn't matter how many times i go to the grand canyon, it never ceases to amaze me. i have maybe gone a good twenty or more times to the canyon and i always see something new or different.

this time we drove around the south rim and did all the regular stuff and then headed out the east rim. i had never been to desert view before but the watchtower was amazing and the east rim gives a view of the length of the canyon instead of it's width.

breathtaking.

the cloudy day was perfect for viewing the colors. they weren't too washed out. i love the reds, grays, oranges, browns, yellows, blues, and greens of the canyon. despite all that is going on in this crazy mixed up materialistic world, the canyon reminds me that change is inevitable, whether slow or fast. change happens. and i always have a choice as to whether i will embrace change or not. i am not philosophizing that all change is good, this, that, or the other. i am simply saying that so often i forget that even in the face of change i have a choice.

i have a choice to fear, to bring down, to conquer, to accept, to be vulnerable, to ignore. i have all these choices. and yet i think we so often just fall into the negativity that change can bring or the dread.

the canyon is a peaceful place for me. it is a place to stop, breath, and collect myself. to remind myself that i am a part of the family of things. that i too am change. on any given day, my colors change too. some days more red is revealed and other days more gray.

i had such a wonderful time getting to know my cousins in an even more intimate way. the canyon draws that out in people. i was able to connect with them on a level i am not sure i have before. we had fun, laughed, were exhausted, and were silent. i love sharing something that means so much to me with others. it is a revelation of a part of me that i am not sure everyone gets to see.

it was another blessed grand canyon experience.