When I was a kid, I roamed the woods exploring everything I could: nature, water, bugs and other critters, sticks, trees, mud, rocks. I didn’t realize how much I missed nature until I visited Glacier National Park for the first time. Visiting Glacier helped heal me deeply in many ways and helped me find some much-needed clarity about the direction of my life. There are big things in life, but sometimes clarity and joy come from the small things that make life whole and meaningful.

While taking in so much grand beauty all around Glacier National Park, hiking and BIG, epic, awesome views everywhere, there were a handful of small things that have stuck with me. To start with, there was a yellow Columbine flower that stopped me in my tracks while hiking the Highline Trail. I’d never seen it in yellow! It was just growing solo in the rocks, and that amazed me even further. I’ve since learned it is native to the Rocky Mountains. Here was a delicate, beautiful flower just holding its own out on this rocky trail.

I also discovered a new flower for me, Western Meadow-Rue. This small, intricate flower completely intrigued me with its tiny and delicate ‘chandelier’ blooms, yet here it was, out here growing in the rocks along with the yellow Columbine! It is completely exposed to this very harsh environment, yet it holds its own. Kind of like me (and I’m sure many of us) being exposed and battered every day over all the injustices, wars, corruption, and chaos of the times we are living through. It reminds me of our human resiliency to endure, despite it all. It is rather remarkable, and these flowers brought me clarity around my own resiliency in their mere beauty and existence in the rocks, no less.

Lastly, along the Highline Trail hike, I noticed a white rock jutting out like a shelf in a sea of gray shale, as though someone might have intentionally put it there. I grabbed it to make sure my eyes weren’t deceiving me or that someone placed it there, but it was clearly natural. The contrast made me stop as if maybe someone set it up to put something on, or maybe just to see the contrasting colors of the white versus dark. Here is this white rock, along with the delicate Columbine and Meadow-Rue, all existing along an extremely steep area that endures excessive weather annually. The rock is further exposed to seasonal water runoff and eroded away over time, except for the white rock. It has held tough despite the harsh environs.

Nature continues to amaze me, and to remind me how delicate and fragile life can be. Such a great reminder for all of us to stop and to really notice the small things throughout life. I’ve noticed small things in and around life, but this trip really reminded me that I should do this more intentionally every day no matter where I am.

Kelly Kilboy is a Nomadic Spirit reader who found great peace at Glacier and lives in the western suburbs of Chicago.