My students mirror my own youthful enthusiasm in the quest for Life's meaning.

During my hike in the mountains on Friday, I came upon a snowman that some youthful soul had built on a rock jutting out from one of the lakes. Its discovery reminded me that I too feel like a child traveling on the interior spiritual journey, as well as when I'm out exploring the Great Outdoors. The awe, wonder, joy and passion of this amazing life keep me constantly feeling like a kid, even though I am 56 years old. I understand now why Jesus declared that we can never really enter the "kingdom of God" unless we "become like a child!" I also realize why the eternally-youthful John Muir has been so inspirational in my life ever since I first discovered his writings while in the third grade.

This, I believe, is one of the reasons why I love teaching college students so much. I find myself brimming with excitement as a new semester is about to begin, for I learn from them just as much as they learn from me. Filled with an intense enthusiasm in their quest for the meaning of life, the students mirror my own constant passion for discovering the reason why we are all here in this crazy but beautiful world. Together we realize that there is never an end to the discoveries we can make on this lifelong journey! Such a multitude of fascinating ideas, insights, revelations, individuals, personality types, unique combinations of masculine-and-feminine traits, spiritual paths, philosophies, cultures, ethnicities, religious traditions, plant and animal species, landscapes, planets, and galaxies to learn from . . . Where does it ever end?

I can't escape the feeling that I am like a kid in a candy store, and that each one of us is called to provide to the Whole an utterly unique puzzle piece of meaning - one that has the potential for interlinking with all of the other pieces that compose the grand and beautiful jigsaw puzzle of Life! With such an adventure constantly in store for us, how could boredom ever be an option?

Photos: Long's Peak, Snowman, Bear Lake and Mills Lakes, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO, January 2, 2015