The Vast Mountain Before Us

Inspired by the colors of a painter named Nicholas Roerich whom I greatly admire, I wanted to do a mountain scape. My husband and I made a few backpacking trips into the mountains before my accident happened, and only a few weeks before I was paralyzed, Grace and I were hiking in the Swiss Alps with our family. The image of this vast mountain, the far off yet somehow obtainable goal of reaching the top together, somehow was an image in my mind that I needed to paint. Only later did I realize that I actually had seen this image before -- on our family trip to the Alps. Our parents holding hands and walking along -- not knowing that in a few weeks they would be facing the near death accident of their daughter, and a year after that be facing our dad's cancer together. Sometimes the mountain before us can feel so vast. We can feel so small compared to the mysteries and trials of the universe. But having another person to face it with can make the whole thing feel like a grand adventure.