Welcome! I am a contemplative thinker and photographer from Colorado. In this blog, you'll discover photographs that I've taken on my hiking and backpacking trips, mostly in the American West. I've paired these with my favorite inspirational and philosophical quotes - literary passages that emphasize the innate spirituality of the natural world. I hope you enjoy them!

If you'd like to purchase photo-quote greeting cards, please go to www.NaturePhoto-QuoteCards.com .


In the Spirit of Wildness,

Stephen Hatch
Fort Collins, Colorado

P.S. There's a label index at the bottom of the blog.

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Through simplicity, meaning is able to crystallize in our lives.


"By poverty, i.e. simplicity of life and fewness of incidents, I am solidified and crystallized, as a vapor, or liquid by cold."

Henry David Thoreau

In this passage, Thoreau compares simplicity of lifestyle to a cold day.  I think of high altitude sky that is relatively empty of the air molecules that would otherwise hold more heat.  Because of this emptiness, any water vapor that is present more readily condenses into snow.  Similarly, when we empty our own lives of excess activity and mental busyness, spiritual meaning is able to condense, crystallize and manifest itself in all of its beauty.

Photo: A snowy day on Fern Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO; February 1, 2013
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