240. Mountain View

A listener from Arizona tells us about the thing that grounds her in difficult moments: mountains. 

Transcripts may not appear in their final version and are subject to change.

I’m Nora McInerny and It’s Going To Be Okay. 

Today’s okay thing comes from Casey Fogle, who sent us this email: 

My childhood bedroom had a clear view of the Catalina Mountains in Tucson. Sun, rain, whatever the weather – there they were.  The clouds would roll in during monsoon season, and then just as quickly roll right on back out.  The mountains were always there, steadfast and sturdy.

Perhaps this is why I’ve been able to hang onto the knowledge that “this too shall pass,” whatever was happening.  Life comes and goes, and ever changes. If I was reeling from circumstances, I could find my footing again before too long.  Even the worst things – my husband’s deployments, his time as a recruiter, the sudden grief at my parents’ deaths – all would end eventually. We could make the best of it as we went, and life went on.

We moved recently, and it has been a difficult time for our family. However, our home has a beautiful view of mountains again. Sometimes the clouds roll in and completely block them.  It’s a magic trick!  Other times, the sun shines so brightly on their rolling foothills that it takes my breath away.  One day, they’ll be blocked by thick grey clouds – then in seemingly moments, the mountains reappear, dusted in snow but sturdy, steady.  In the spring, the snow changes to the distant fuzzy green of trees too small to see from below.

When my life is feeling wobbly lately, or I’m feeling like a dancer who has forgotten to spot during a series of pirouettes, I pause a moment and look at our mountains. Even when the weather has been at its worst, the bedrock stands and the mountains come back.  That’s how I know it will be OK.