Okay, maybe I do have a tendency to "wander" off........
So yesterday I took Starbuck for a walk and was just going to stop below Daniel's Hill. That was going to be my turnaround point. But I just had this urge to trek up Daniel's Hill. So off Starbuck and I "wandered" and began the uphill climb. I briefly considered that Jon did not know that we were going up there but I reasoned that Daniel's Hill was local and thus was just like walking by Beaver Lake. That was my reasoning at any rate. I suppose that was debatable.

The thing about wandering up Daniel's Hill in the winter is that everything changes the higher you go. As you go up, you pick up more snow. The only human sounds are the ones you make. The sounds you do hear outside of yourself are nature's. There were birds chattering and the noise of the running creek. There was Starbuck frolicking and rolling in the snow. I felt the tensions of life roll away.

Daniel's Hill required cardio effort. So as we climbed I got into my zone as I call it. I was breathing deeply, my heart rate picked up to feed all the working muscles. My stride was that comfortable slow steady long pull. I was caught up in the rhythm of the effort required. I had songs in my head but could not sing them due to the effort of continuing the journey. I heard the old old carol "I wonder as I wander out under the sky..." I let it flow through my mind and echo in my heart. Again it became one of those transcending moments where eternity and the finite meet.

Once at the top, light snowflakes began to dance through the air. A large spruce whose branches were heavy with snow caught my attention. At its very top sat one lone bird. I lifted my face to the sky to feel the snow flurries and to breathe in the fresh air. Standing still my breathing and heart rate slowed to normal. I began to sing "O Come O Come Emanuel." There was only God to hear and He did not care if I was off-key. As I sang, the Holy Spirit began to sing through me and the song transcended the earthly moment to become a heavenly one. Starbuck sat quietly by. And in that moment I was glad that I had wandered off.......

"Rejoice, Rejoice, Emanuel. O come to thee O Israel."