I did some hiking on the alum Cave Trail yesterday.  The snow was still deep.  The sun had the snow mushy so footing was bad and the hiking was hard.  But the views were amazing.  The snow and ice painted the trees beautifully.  The trees and blue sky framed the mountains perfectly.  This view of Clingmans Dome was breathtaking.  It made me pause and remember why it's so important to get out and take in these views.  A view like this reminds me of what is really important in life and what is just routine.

    All the winters I spent in town I never really saw the beauty of winter like I have this winter.  I used to think that winter was a gray and dead time of year.  It was cold and uncomfortable.  I thought about that this morning as I watched the sun melt the snow out of this bush.  Then I saw the strength of nature in this simple scene.  Look at all the buds in this scraggly shrub.  What life!  This is just the top of a plant that has been under three and four feet of snow for months.  I wished that I had that kind of strength and perseverance.

    It is amazing to me how many times I will walk past something beautiful and never see it.  This is a scene that I pass almost every day.  For some reason I stopped and saw it as I never had before.  The way that Nature sculpted this piece of a plant in snow was fascinating.  It looked more like something that would be seen on another planet or at the bottom of the ocean.   But there it was,  a stones throw from the place where I sleep.  I really want to make more of an effort to appreciate the beauty of the things close to me.

    There are times in all of our lives that it seems like there is a storm brewing within us.  I can't function like that for long.  There are things that others have shown me that always calm me.  Once I'm in a calm state I can clear my mind and start over with a clean slate.  Rudyard Kipling's poem "If" is one of those things.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

"If"
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:
 
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!
 
By Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936).

    One of the many things I want to do with this blog is meet interesting people.  I constantly meet interesting people.  I love people and never meet a stranger.  But I often meet strange people!  So from time to time I am going to introduce you to some of the many, many cool people that I have encountered.  Today I would like you to meet author Ron Miller.

Ron Miller was born in Miami, Florida, raised in Tennessee, educated at the University of Tennessee (B.S. Engineering), but received his “doctorate” while traveling throughout the world. He has lived in several states including Florida, North Carolina, Utah, and Colorado before settling down in the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee. Ron has spent more than three years traveling to the hidden corners of the planet, revealing an eye for the beauty, culture, and history of the places he visits. He is a member of the Knoxville Writers’ Guild, Tennessee Mountain Writers, Toastmasters International, and the Sierra Club. Ron Miller’s passion for travel has been motivated by a desire to further his understanding of human nature and spirituality. Although Ron initially set off merely to explore the world’s greatest attractions, he quickly found that the fascinating people left the greatest impressions. Ron's personal encounters with a variety of exotic cultures and dynamic personalities have allowed him to uncover the root causes for many of the world’s social and economic ills and gain insight into the essence of humanity.

When Ron Miller decided to exchange his life of comfort and security for an extended global journey, he never imagined the cultural trials he would face or the spiritual lessons he would learn. Immersing himself deeply into a potpourri of international cultures, he felt compelled to ask himself:      If I had been born into a society of cannibals, would I question that society’s behaviors and values, or would I simply be a happy cannibal?

     Miller searched the entire world for the guidance that supersedes culture, and he found that wisdom in the last - and most obvious - place he looked.

    I hope that you will take a moment or two to visit Ron's website http://rontravel.com  and get to know our neighbor.  

    Photos and text courtesy of Ron Miller, http://rontravel.com

    I am very grateful that you have stopped by to enjoy my reflections on the Smoky Mountains.  I am glad that you share my love for these mountains.  There is a peace and serenity, a visual and emotional beauty to the Smoky Mountains that I want to take some time to reflect on with you.

    So put your boots on and lets go!  I feel very blessed to be able to spend so much time in the smokies.  If you have spent any time at all here then you may feel like these mountains are your home.

    Well, there's nothing left to do but come take a walk with me through the Smokies.  We won't take anything but some fantastic photography and maybe a handful of blackberries.  We will leave only our shadows and some warm memories.

    Thanks again for joining me here at ReflectionsOfTheSmokies.

    Doug McFalls