Unexpected beauty

Megan:
I guess you don't really know if a pair of shoes is broken in until you've walked 30 miles in four days. Well, four blisters and a lot of duct tape later, I can say that my hiking shoes were not exactly broken in prior to this trip.

Jon and I just finished an amazing four days of backpacking in the Sierra Norte Mountains in the state of Oaxaca. It was apparent after our first deep breath on the trail that this environment reminded us of home...the smell of warm pine trees and fresh mountain air. I don't think it occurred to either one of us until that moment how much we had been craving a meaningful interaction with nature.

We spent our days hiking between several tiny mountain towns, each day with a different local guide we hired to lead us along the many unmarked trails. Each night we were welcomed into quaint, but comfortable little mud-brick cabins. We enjoyed eating our meals at the local Comodor (dining room) in each town where we were cheerfully served whatever dish had been prepared that day. "Chocolate de leche" with "pan trigo" (rich spiced hot chocolate with dry wheat bread) has become a favorite bedtime snack.

I'm not sure if it was the calming effect of being in nature or the welcoming warmth of people we met along the way, but something on this trek reminded me how beauty can manifest in so many different ways. Beauty often has so little to do with material goods or economic wealth, although I think it's easy for us to get caught up in that. In the past few days, we experienced moments of beauty in a small patch of wild flowers who had made their home on the side of a road; an amazing lightning storm on the horizon that lasted for hours; layers of mountains each growing more faint as they disappear into the distance; the unbelievable warmth in the smile of a stranger. Although the people we met had very few material goods to share, they gave freely of themselves in so many other ways. Now, with replenished hearts, our eyes are a little more open to see the unexpected beauty we encounter every day.