Why don't we walk in the clouds?

Every day we have a million interactions that vie for our attention and almost every one of those interactions deserves a fraction of the thought and stress we grant it. Five o clock traffic, bent glasses, long grocery lines, why do they matter? They really don't, but we get so caught up in the moment that they become mountains in our every day lives.
Now, every day of my life I am literally climbing mountains. From Georgia to Maine I will be summiting hundreds of peaks and on a clear day my path can be seen across the blue waves of land. This is the opposite of my life back home. Where I usually get caught up on small moments I now get  distressed by the layers of physical obstacles that confront me. Yes, the panoramic views from wayah bald are breathtaking but my past three days' obstacles are within view. Equally as beautiful was the view yesterday from Wesser Bald where I could see the smokies, my next challenge, dominating the horizon to the north; but when you account for the 8 inches of snow that we have trekked through since entering North Carolina, and you factor in the 12 degrees that we have woken up to on multiple mornings "beautiful" becomes a term used rarely, and the layers of mountains become layers of hardships. Three mornings ago we awoke to frozen boots, frosty clothes and four waterbottles that had transformed into solid ice over night. No water for oatmeal and only wishful thinking that they would unfreeze during the frigid day. It takes miles before the boots unfreeze and your breath is visible, even at noon. In the heart of this Wintery wilderness friendships grow quickly because only those who are with you can truly comprehend the extremely of this snowy sanctuary. The sun will show sporadically and each ray is a blessing. In the cold you find the greatest excitement in the smallest warmth. I'm not trying to rob this white wonderland of all it's grandeur, because I have seen few things that rival it's beauty. Today however, the weather changed and we woke up to a dripping fog that had melted the snow and enveloped the world in cloud. It wasn't as chilly and we knew we were headed to town, so naturally Chase and I had a little pep in our step. Once we had packed up we headed off into the clouds. Four thousand feet and descending, we werw headed down into the nantahala river valley and we were in awe of this unique beauty. Strands of moss covered trees and water dripped from every surface. It wasn't really raining but the air was so thick that clarity began to fade a few steps in any direction and trees became shadowy figures that dissolved into the gray. You could hear birds singing, they were happy with the change, and several times we even spooked some grouse, and they frantically fluttered into the sky. It was amazing, a unique beauty like nothing else. Walking in the clouds is drastically different than a clear day because you can't see the obstacles ahead, or the trail you have left behind. It is a "in the moment" kind of mindset and like life at home you can only see what's right in front of you but unlike life at home you are satisfied with the moment. Who knows if there is a steep rock climb ahead or if the trail leads you up a mountain of switchbacks, the fog settles your mind and puts on blinders to the stress so that you can only see the dripping moss and ghostly songbirds that sit on the limbs closest to you. That's all you need, just this moment, and as you move the moment will too, and that's all it takes to be happy. 
There might not be dripping moss at home on the aisles of the nearest supermarket, and a grouse might not be nestled in your garage, but that doesn't mean that these moments of stress should become mountains, because each moment is is a breath and no single breath should be filled with stress. I pray the clouds will flow across the peaks when my stress begins to rise again because there is no better mindset than the deep breath and peace that you get when you take a walk in the clouds. 

-chastan