I stood at the edge of a cliff, looking over the landscape. A carpet of blue and green stretched before my eyes. Fuzzy woods. Snow-capped hills. We had taken all day to hike up to this point. It was grueling. My backpack worried lines into my shoulders.

 

But things were going to be different now, at this point. The sun had set, and it was dusk. Purples, blues, and a stripe of pink lit up the canvas. I wanted to be part of it. I stood broadly, feeling the great rock beneath my feet. We were at the top of the cliff. It had taken thousands of years for this slab of rock to form; it was time for me to appreciate it in all its glory.

 

And then I stepped off.