Trippin' on Rocks

I have been trippin' on rocks for years.  Each trip is an experience of sudden terror, a realization of things in the world that should be noticed, and, if it is a good trip I come down no worse for wear. Of course, I have had my bad trips as well.  These are trips where the sudden terror is actualized by physical pain of coming down badly.  Fortunately, I have not had a really bad trip.  Each year, there are those who die from those kind of bad trips.

That is not the kind of trippin' on rocks that I'm writing about today. Consider the rock above.   For Middle Tennessee it is just pretty typical.  It's limestone.  It's been eroded by by water.  Because it is in the woods and near a stream, it is in a shaded, moist area making it a prime location for the growth of moss.  I just love moss on rocks.  While rock themselves have color and texture, moss give rocks life, and enrich their character.  Unfortunately, all too often I miss seeing things on my hikes because I am trying to get from here to there.  I have "X" number of miles to do and only so much time.  I am so concerned  about falling that I stare so intently at the trail, and I don't really see of what the trail is really made.  Often times, the only time I really see is when my concentration is broken by trippin' on rocks. Then in that instant, whether a good trip or bad trip, I am suddenly a made aware of the beauty that can be found, and then I go, trippin' on rocks.