This is an unexpected trip. It will be the last trip to this place. I thought there would be more. I had plans.
“Had.”
Snow in August!
Just and ordinary eagle. Doing ordinary eagle stuff.
Yellowstone Falls
“Very familiar.”
There are some really nice camping spots in these mountains.
“And lions and bears and a bunch of other creatures. All of them out to get you! It’s a jungle out there.”
You mean it’s a mountain out there.
Change can be slow to come here. I think some people like it that way.
The animals like things consistent too. I took this photograph when we still used film. The camera is different but the animals are the same.
“They might even be the same ones. How long do they live anyway?”
“It looks like the tree of life.”
It is no coincidence you see it that way, right now.
The Tree of Life is said to inspire ancient man to reflect upon his existence in his search for the meaning of life.
This is the time to reflect on that.
The tree of life serves as a powerful emblem, illustrating the profound idea that our world is a seamlessly woven tapestry. Every element of existence is interlinked—from the rhythms of nature to the complexity of biology, from your personal journey to those of others, and stretching through time to encompass the past, present, and future—all intricately bound in connections that often elude our awareness.
“You can’t stop using that Ai text!”
Well, it’s true! We are all part of the cosmic unconsciousness.
That’s a lot to think about.
“I keep it simple.”
How long does anybody have? When you know the answer you can put a number to it.
“The number doesn’t mean so much. How much life did you get? I count them in lives.”
You would! You’re a cat.
“I’m a tiger! You got that? I’m a tiger.”
So what life are you on now?
“This is my 4th. Same as you.”
These are my parents. They shared a life together.
“Just one.”
Now that we have the numbers.
He had a couple. One with her and one before that. She had one before him, one with him, and a couple more after.
“At least 4, maybe 5.”
Do they add up to nine?
“Spooky..”
Some will never be seen by the ones they left behind.
Some have no one left to see them. I see so many and wonder how long they have been abandoned to time.
Is there any meaning when there’s nobody left to see them?
“I’m just a meat sack. I can go the way of most.”
“We need a bracelet too! But not that one. We should make one just for us.”
Special?
There aren’t enough graves to count for all the deaths in this world. Not everyone has a grave or an etched stone above it. I don’t think any less for those people than the the people who have actual graves. Even the ones that have flowers on them now count the same for me.
If someone still goes there even when the person they knew is gone, that has some meaning, but this isn’t the way people live on. It seems like some tradition from the past or maybe some culture I don’t fit into.
“When you visit one of the forgotten graveyards in the deserts of this place it seems like something people used to do.”
They still do. It’s a business.
“They say you live as long as the last person to remember you.”
I think it is more than a memory. Part of your personality comes from them. That’s how they live on. And you pass that to others and on and on.
“Lattice of coincidence.”
But he’s not going to be here forever.
I’ll never see him again.
If this was the last thing you saw, it isn’t so bad.
I’ve had a lifetime here in these mountains. These Rocky mountains. I’m not the only one.
And mom’s spaghetti.
“That’s not what that means.”
Oh, I think that’s exactly what it means.
